The Mind Mage
by mbradford395
Summary: Harry discovers the beauty in the art of Mind Magic. A simple act alters the course of the war. Well, he had to better than Hermione at something other than Defense, right? Features a Harry more affected by the horrors he faced. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**Modern setting. Do read this, it's very small and please try not to ask why there are modern references in a 90's setting. This isn't in the '90s, I'm not going to specify when the setting is, you can imagine it to be whatever year you want.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

-x-x-x-

Harry Potter winced as he reapplied bandages yet again over his hand. Umbitch's detentions have yet again yielded a bloody hand. It was going to leave a deep scar on him, he could tell that just by looking at the thing.

The blasted woman was going out of his way to antagonize him, and to his shame, it worked every damn time. He cursed his hotheaded nature once again for letting the woman manipulate him into detention yet again. Thankfully, yesterday was the last of the detentions that he had been assigned.

Umbridge's torture was accompanied by the thrice-damned Occlumency lessons with 'Professor Snape', the near-constant headache due to the dreams of Voldemort torturing some innocent Muggle-born or worse, Muggles. Such dreams were very frequent and due to his severely fatigued state, Harry wasn't even able to find the strength to reach his bed at night.

Just last night, Luna Lovegood, one of his friends that was quickly turning out to be quite the fun one to hang out with, had found him on the way to the Gryffindor Common Room and he collapsed on her. The poor girl had to drag his skinny hide to an empty classroom, stay awake, and wait until he woke up.

She still greeted him with a smile when he finally did.

Said dirty blonde haired girl was frowning at him in concern, a first, as she usually displayed an indifferent, dreamy smile to everything around her. He had not told her anything of why he had collapsed in the middle of the night, but she had not pushed even if Harry could see she wanted to. She was a Ravenclaw after all.

Hermione nudged him with her elbow harshly again. Harry took a deep breath, _she does not deserve it, don't take your anger out on her, Potter. She doesn't deserve it._ He turned to her with an annoyed scowl on his face, trying his best to keep his temper in check.

"What?" He hissed. Hermione looked surprised at his tone.

She frowned, but seemed to ignore it, "I was going to ask if you have thought about what I had told you." Harry furrowed his brow, before rolling his eyes as he remembered.

The brown-haired witch has this crazy idea that Harry, herself and Ron would start a club. A club to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, not really something he wanted to do in his free time, which is practically non-existent when combined with the Occlumency lessons with 'Professor' Snape; which was 'suggested' by Dumbledore a week ago after learning about Harry's frequent dreams. The lessons were not what either of them wanted, as neither Harry nor Snape wanted to spend any time with each other. However, Dumbledore wouldn't have it.

He trusts Severus Snape with his life, after all.

In his opinion, he would rather trust a brick to help him teach Occlumency.

Harry shook his head with a sigh, "Hermione, you told me your brilliant idea yesterday and I told you, quite clearly, that I barely have enough free time. That is ignoring that the little time I have left to do homework." Harry said to the girl. Hermione huffed.

"Oh, stop being so whiny Harry; you know you wouldn't have detentions if you could just control yourself." She said 'sagely'. Harry glared at her.

"Whiny, am I? Guess what, you can go through with you 'plan' yourself." Hermione blinked in shock.

"…But Harry, you're the best in our year at Defense." She protested. Her face was sour, Harry noted. Clearly, she didn't like him upstaging her at a single solitary subject.

Harry idly wondered how she would act if he could equal her at other subjects. Maybe she would go apoplectic, demand how he got so good at his subjects, and nag him until he gave in.

"Stings, doesn't it?" Harry said with a smirk. Hermione narrowed her brown eyes at him and scoffed.

"Look, Potter. I'm only asking you to use your considerable talents at Defense and help others pass their OWLS and NEWTS. V-V-V… You-Know-Who is back, so they should be allowed basic defense." Harry let out a breath.

It's true; he did want people to have at least basic knowledge of defense in case the Death Eaters attack. But, how was he supposed to teach when he could barely hold his wand the right way considering his hand shook so much.

A small, petty part of him wanted revenge against the people who called him a liar, no-good attention-seeking prat. Some Hufflepuffs probably even considered him a murderer. He wouldn't exactly be surprised if they did, he hadn't missed several angry, hate-filled glares being shot at him by many Hufflepuffs. Hannah Abbot, the girl he remembered wearing one of the damned 'Potter Stinks' badge and smirking at him when he looked at it. Hell, even Susan Bones, a girl remembered was not one of the people who believed him to be the Heir of Slytherin in his Second Year, but she suddenly became one of the people who thought he put his name in the Goblet of Fire last year and now she was sneering at him.

Oh yes, they absolutely love him.

"Look, Granger, I'm not whining or lying when I say that I can barely hold my wand right because of how much I have to do and how bloody tired I am. My essays are barely intelligible 'cause I can't keep my hand from shaking, I can't sleep because of watching snake-face torture people. I'm about to pass out every time I leave 'Professor' Snape's room. If you think I'm being over-dramatic, then maybe you should try going through my schedule." Hermoine flinched at his cold tone. Ignoring this, he continued, "If you want to start a club, go right ahead, but if you want me to teach it, you can forget it." Harry said firmly. Hermione looked gobsmacked.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," Harry replied mockingly.

There was an awkward silence between the two, where Harry contemplated his detentions with Umbitch. That was an apt name for the toad-faced bitch like her. Hell, calling the toad a 'her' was an insult to females all around the world.

Hermione looked awkward when she hesitantly looked at him and said, "...Harry, I'm… sorry." She seemed genuinely apologetic. Harry sighed and looked away.

"...Look, it's… fine. I'm just a bit on edge. This year has been really shitty so far and it doesn't seem like it's going to change. I just want to get through with it." Harry said, sagging. Hermione's eyes softened and looped an arm around his.

"Language." She said teasingly. Harry gave her a dry look.

"I didn't realize that you were Captain America." He said sarcastically. She looked surprised that he got the reference.

"You've seen Avengers?" Harry scoffed.

"Who hasn't?" Hermione opened her mouth, but Harry beat her to it, "Okay, our dear Pure-Blood friends have not, but then again, they don't have a lot of things. Common sense for one." Hermione snickered. Harry smiled tiredly. It was only lunch and he was already damned tired. Great, maybe this time he won't even reach Snape's door before collapsing.

"Harry, how bad are you feeling right now?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. He knew he looked horrible, pale, skinny and dark rings under his eyes. He looked like a Grim Reaper look-alike. Hermione frowned.

"On second thought, don't answer that. Should I ask Professor McGonagall to allow you to rest?" She asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

Harry sighed, "I wouldn't hold my breath over her doing something." _She never has_. Harry added mentally. He wasn't exactly the biggest fan of his Transfigurations Professor. She never seemed to believe him nor does she seemed to do something when shit hits the fan.

Heir of Slytherin and Potter Stinks were prime examples of that.

Hermione frowned, "Harry, Professor McGonagall would hear us out." She said firmly. Harry nearly rolled his eyes at her fervent worship of authority figures.

They are the exact opposite when it comes to their opinions of adults. The only adult Harry would trust completely is Sirius. He would never trust an adult to do the right thing by him since they never have.

Harry didn't trust Sirius at first either, but the man lived off _rats_ for him. That was enough for Harry to trust the man completely.

"Leave it, Hermione. She wouldn't listen to me." Harry replied dismissively. Hermione scowled, she grabbed his hand and held it in between them.

"Yes, she would. We'll show her this." She nodded at his hand. Harry's jaw clenched. No chance in hell he was showing McGonagall that, she'll just use it as an example of how he should have listened to her and kept his temper in check. After all, that's what she had said when he had complained about students jinxing him in the corridors in his Fourth Year. When they jinxed him bad enough for him to end up in the Hospital Wing, she'd just told him that he should not have antagonized them.

He has such a _caring _Head of House.

"Considering her words before my first detention were that I, 'allowed her to goad me into detention', I think not," Harry answered flatly.

Hermione froze and looked at him with round eyes. She took a few moments to process this, and she looked back up at him, "Harry… maybe once more? Let's try, Harry. I think she'll do something about this… this," She broke off, unable to finish her sentence.

Harry sighed in frustration. Why doesn't she understand that he didn't want to go to McGonagall? He could already see what his Professor's response was going to be,

A thinned lip and a, 'I told you not to antagonize her, Potter. I am helpless.'

Harry looked away from Hermione's pleading expression. But Hermione wouldn't have it, she forced him to look at her, and said, "Please, Harry? For me, this once." Harry growled in frustration.

Knowing that she wouldn't let this go, nor would he be able to say no, he nodded in defeat. He doesn't fight pointless battles. Well, if he knew they were pointless anyway.

Hermione beamed and pulled his arm, "Come on, we still have fifteen minutes before we have Double Defense, if we are quick we'll catch her." She said.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Double Defense, oh joy. I already miss Snape's sunny face." He said sarcastically. Several Gryffindor's next to him snorted and a few others snickered. Ron had done a 'mistake' in Potions yesterday and was, therefore, spending his time lazing on one of the Infirmary's beds.

Of course, in Potions Gryffindors' 'Mistakes' meant that one of the Slytherins has decided to… help Ron with his Potion making. They just added the wrong ingredient. Snape awarded points to the Slytherin that had dropped the wrong ingredient for adding the wrong ingredients as they stopped Ron from adding something that could cause more harm.

Harry had never heard so much crap from one mouth.

Hermione clearly ignored this or didn't hear him at all. She was dragging him over to the High Table where McGonagall looked like she was just about to leave to prepare for her class. She paused in her way to look at him and Hermione.

His hopes weren't up when he saw her frowning at him.

"Professor McGonagall, may we have a moment? We have something to discuss." Harry mentally snorted at the way Hermione worded the sentence. It was clear that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow and nodded curtly, "If you insist, Miss Granger. Follow me." Harry and Hermione followed McGonagall to the Transfiguration Classroom which was also her office. Harry could feel the Umbridge's toad-like eyes watching his every move.

Ignoring her as he continued along with Hermione grabbing his uninjured hand to lead him alongside. Finally, they reached the Transfigurations Classroom. McGonagall motioned them to follow her into her office. When she reached her desk, she sat down on the chair and motioned for them to sit opposite her.

"Now, what is it that you wished to discuss?" She asked, straight to the point.

Hermione nudged Harry, and he sighed, he looked at McGonagall and said, "Professor, I would like to ask your permission for the day off." He said, his tone void of any emotion.

McGonagall's eyebrow raised, "May I ask why?"

For a moment, Harry was tempted to say, 'yes, you can' But decided not to. His smart-arse tendencies were best reserved for people who thought he was a 'liar'.

"Professor, I'll be honest, Professor Umbridge has been singling me out and giving me detention for small reasons. I had detention yesterday, and combined with Sna- Professor Snape's Remedial Potions and my frequent dreams of Voldemort," He ignored the flinches of both of the other occupants of the office, "have left me with barely enough energy to walk let alone hold a wand right. Maybe if I get a single day to rest, then I'll be able to perform to my regular capacity." Harry explained, keeping his voice completely calm and blank.

McGonagall's lips thinned, "Perhaps, Mister Potter, if you would, for once, heed my advice and not antagonize Madam Umbridge any more than you already have then you would not be in this position." Her voice was exasperated. Harry heard a gasp and he turned to Hermione with a raised eyebrow as if to say, 'I told you so.'

"But Professor, Madam Umbridge doesn't go after everyone, only Harry! She constantly belittles Professor Lupin and you know how much he means to Harry!" Hermione protested, her eyes were pleading. McGonagall sighed tiredly.

"Be as it may, Miss Granger, Mister Potter should learn to ignore the opinions of others. He doesn't seem to have a problem with the rest of the school." She 'pointed out'. Harry nearly growled but instead settled for simply scowling darkly at her.

There was a moment of silence that involved Harry ignoring a frowning McGonagall and a shaking Hermione. Eventually, Hermione turned to Harry.

"Harry, show her your hand." She demanded.

Harry nearly fell off the chair. Show her his hand? The same scarred hand that he was desperately hiding? He gaped at Hermione. The witch looked at him, her eyes nearly glowing with rage, shocking the absolute bollocks out of him.

Was that rage on his behalf? On a Professor? A figure of authority? From Hermione Granger? The same Hermione Granger who believed that getting expelled was worse than dying? That Hermione Granger? Hermione looked like she was about to burst a fuse.

"Harry." She prompted firmly, as her voice shook. Harry shook his thoughts out and stared at her.

"Hermione, let it go, I'm not worth it." He really wasn't. Why was she so hell-bent on this? Harry was sure that even his scarred hand wasn't enough to sway McGonagall. Hermione looked like she was about to slap him.

"You're worth everything, dammit." She whispered. Harry's eyes widened considerably. For a moment they just stared at each other. Hermione was breathing heavily, out of anger or not, he didn't know. He shook his head slowly and Hermione gritted her teeth.

"Show her your hand, goddammit!" She screamed at him, and Harry nearly fell over once again.

"Miss Granger!" McGonagall snapped, scandalized at Hermione's language.

"...Hermione, calm down, it's okay." Hermione growled.

"It's not okay, Harry. Your hand. Now."

"Hermione," Harry warned.

"Your hand, now!"

"Mister Potter, perhaps it would be better if you show your hand," McGonagall said as Harry and Hermione were glaring stubbornly at each other.

Why was Hermione being so stubborn about this? Can't she just understand that he doesn't want to show his scarred hand to McGonagall? Can't she see that it is pointless?

Harry's temper flared as she glared stubbornly at him. He gets it now, she wants to be right. She wants to be right in her belief that an authority figure can do no wrong. He was opposed to her beliefs and she doesn't like that. She wants to be right, and she was using him to prove her to be right.

Finally, Harry growled as the tables shook from his magic leaking out. He ripped his bandages off and slammed his hand on her table. He didn't even twitch at the insane amount of pain that shot up his arm because of the impact. McGonagall flinched and looked at him, shocked.

Harry looked away, fuming as she finally got a look at his scarred hand. There was no noise that indicated that she was shocked, or horrified. Instead, there was silence. Hermione grabbed his other hand and held it tightly. Harry glared at Hermione, before finally looking at McGonagall.

His Professor was looking resigned. It was the same expression he had seen on several of the teachers' faces back in Primary. A look that implied that they are helpless. A look that implied that he had brought on the situation on himself.

She looked at him, her expression pinched and hopeless, "I'm sorry, Mister Potter. I had already told you not to antagonize Madam Umbridge, I… Miss Granger, what are you doing?!" McGonagall demanded. Harry snapped his head over to his best friend and was stunned into silence.

Her eyes were watery and she had removed her Prefect Badge and had placed it on McGonagall's table. Harry's eyes were very wide when she turned to look at him. She gave him a watery smile and shook her head.

"I'm… sorry, Professor McGonagall. I hereby resign from my position as Prefect." Harry just gaped at her. Whatever he had expected out of this encounter was not this. Hermione had just given up her Prefect position all for him? Him?

"M-Miss Granger?" Stuttered McGonagall. If the situation was any different, Harry would have laughed at the expression on his usually stoic Transfiguration Professor's face.

"I had always wondered why Harry didn't get the badge," Hermione said softly and Harry felt the need to wrap her in his arms, "he saved the school and it's students many times, but now… I don't think I want to know that answer." Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Hermione left, her body shaking. Harry looked at McGonagall who looked like they had slapped her with a fish, "...That was… eventful." Harry said dumbly.

Still looking shocked, Harry smiled brightly at McGonagall, "By your leave, Professor." He said with a dramatic bow and followed his best friend out of the office.

Harry found her out of the classroom leaning her back against the stone wall and sighed. It was clear that her unshakeable trust in authority was shaken violently.

Perhaps now he understood why he kept things close to himself without trusting any adults. They had never done anything right by him.

With another sigh, Harry leaned against the wall beside the brown-haired witch. He nudged her with his shoulder and smiled slightly, "Well, that was quite a show." Harry remarked. Hermione said nothing. Harry placed grabbed her chin gently and made her look at him.

Her eyes were watery and she looked like she was about to cry. Harry hesitantly put an arm around her shaking shoulders, "Has it always been like this for you?" Hermione asked him softly. Harry said nothing for a moment before he said,

"...For as long as I can remember, yes," Harry answered solemnly. Hermione pushed herself off the wall and slammed into him, making him grunt.

Her arms were around him and her face was buried into the top of his chest, near his collarbone. Harry stood there stiffly, arms hanging uselessly on either side of him, looking at the long hallway.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said thickly. Harry gingerly wrapped his arms around her. Burying his face into her not-so-bushy hair. She seemed to cry silently while tightening her grip on him. Harry smiled into her hair before he blinked.

He felt two, firm, soft globes press into his toned chest. Harry blushed brightly, instinctively wrapping his own arms tightly around her. Hermione didn't seemed to notice.

"Hermione, it's fine. Look, if what's happening to me really bothers you, we'll talk to Padfoot. What do you say?" Harry asked gently, ignoring the feel of her chest against his.

She suddenly pulled away, glaring at him, "Of course it bothers me, Harry! You… you… you mean a lot to me… more than I can express in words. More than some badge." Hermione said, her face slightly red. Harry blushed as well.

Always the one to avoid an awkward situation, Harry soldiered forward, "Well, do you want to talk to Padfoot?" Hermione looked slightly disappointed, though she hid it quickly, leaving Harry confused.

Suddenly, she gasped, "Harry! We have a class right now!" She shrieked. Harry flinched at the sudden rise in volume and rubbed his ear.

"You don't have to scream it. I know we have a class right now." Harry deadpanned. Hermione gained a slightly sheepishly with a slight red tint to her cheeks at her uncharacteristic screech. "The class is in five minutes, and I happen to know a shortcut, what do you say, shall we go?" Harry grinned at her, offering his arm. Hermione smiled brilliantly and he blushed again.

_She's so pretty._ Harry thought.

She took his arm and he used one of the shortcuts that he saw in the Marauder's Map that leads directly to the Defense Classroom. Leading her along, Harry found a number of people glaring at him, several Hufflepuffs began to talk in hushed tones and a few others sneered. It seemed that no one in Hufflepuff believed him when he said that Voldemort was back. He wondered if they'd crawl to his feet begging him to fight their battles again when they finally realize that Riddle is back.

_Bully for them_, he doesn't plan on helping them out easily.

Finally, Harry and Hermione reached the Defense Classroom, the garishly pink classroom making his eyes water. Hermione groaned at the color, and Harry knew why. Hermione hated the color pink, especially when it is in such exceeding quantity.

"It seems that you are right on time, Mister Potter, Miss Granger." The toad-like woman simpered when she finally caught sight of them. She seemed disappointed that they had arrived on time.

_Yeah, like I'd allow you to do anything to Hermione, you bitch._ Harry raged in his head.

Outwardly, Harry gave her a bright smile and said, "So it seems, Professor." It physically pained him to call the toad 'professor' but he'd rather not have his hand bleeding for yet another night. Or worse, get Hermione dragged into the mess.

Umbridge said nothing, merely walking into the class, her stupid heels clicking and rebounding off the walls. It annoyed Harry. A lot. Why couldn't the toad just combust and leave the world in peace? For Christ's sake, he doesn't think that even Fudge liked her. He probably kept her around simply because she was useful.

Harry glared at her back, willing her to just explode. Several people backed away from him at his dark expression. Hermione dragged Harry into a seat near the back, unusual for her, it garnered several odd looks towards herself and Harry. Harry gave her a confused look when she shoved him into the seat and sat down next to him. She smiled secretly at him, confusing him even more.

Harry took his book, the one which he wasted galleons on, Dark Arts- Defense for Beginners, and nearly slammed it onto the table. Hermione grinned at him. Harry gave her an exasperated look when she said nothing, only smiled secretly.

Harry wondered what was going on in that smart head of hers, and he soon got his answer when she pulled her wand out when Umbridge wasn't looking and tapped it against his book. There was no change that Harry could spot from what he could see, so he only settled for raising an eyebrow.

Hermione nodded towards the book and Harry took it with a sigh, he opened a random page, only to find it to be advanced Sixth Year material.

Harry blinked, he rubbed his eyes from underneath his glasses and looked at the book again. It was still Sixth Year material. He turned his stunned gaze to his friend who leaned close and whispered to him, "A spell I learned yesterday. It will appear this way only to us, it still looks like the useless book to the toad." Harry nearly laughed incredulously.

Holy shit, Hermione was brilliant. Now, he could actually read it and not be distracted by Umbitch. Part of the reason that he constantly fell in the toad's trap was that he couldn't bear to read the shite in the book. He had finished the spells in it when he was still in his First Year.

To be honest, he had borrowed several books from Fred and George, but he had also bribed the upper years to get him NEWTS material from the Hogwarts Library last year. He couldn't really find a way to get advanced material as Madam Pince refused to grant him access even though there was a high chance of him dying if he wasn't prepared accordingly. So he did the only thing that he could do and bribed the upper years to get him advanced material. He had practiced several of those spells when he was selected as the Fourth Champion.

Hey, he did what he had to do to survive.

There were quite a few spells that he had missed out on last year. At least from higher material. He hadn't expected this year to be this shite. The blasted thing wasn't even fit for the First Years, let alone for a witch or wizard who was about to write their OWLS.

"You're brilliant, 'Mione," Harry said with a grin and she smiled. She repeated the process with her own book when Umbridge did her typical 'hem-hem' that sounded awfully similar to nails on a chalkboard.

"Good morning, class." She said with a smile that could spoil the milk and Harry was sure that somewhere in the world a cute tiger cub died spontaneously. At least, that's what it felt like to him. The toad's smile should be considered an Unforgivable.

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge." The class repeated. Harry refused to say it, so he mouthed the words, making it seem like he did say it, but he actually didn't.

"There, you're leaning!" Umbridge gave a sickeningly sweet smile and Harry's stomach churned, "Now, open page 68 and start reading. As I said, you don't need your wands, nor do you need to talk." Harry rolled his eyes.

"No need to think, more like it." He muttered dryly, smirking when Hermione's shoulders shook with mirth.

Umbridge made rounds around the class a few times, she paused several times near Harry and Hermione's desk as if she were waiting for them to say something. Harry had several things to say to her, but that would land him in detention, so, no thank you.

Harry's book had advanced spells so he didn't even need to look at the toad. One of the spells that he saw was Bombarda Maxima, a highly powered variant of the Exploding Charm, Bombarda. It was capable of destroying a solid wall formation easily. Harry remembered Hermione using the spell in their Third Year to destroy the door to the holding cell in which Sirius was imprisoned. He knew how to do the spell himself in their Second Year and he did think of using it to destroy the rocks blocking him from Ron and Lockheart, but he decided not to, as it could have brought the whole thing down on top of them.

The incantation was, of course, Bombarda Maxima and the wand movement was a simple point and shoot, similar to a Rictusempra or Avada Kedavra. Ignoring the second one, Harry saw how the spell needs to be done. It requires feeling the flow of magic within themselves and pushing it through the wand, and expect destruction. The book specifies that the charm was very powerful and hence required a large amount of magic to perform. Not too much that it would drain them out completely, but it was enough that trained Aurors would exhaust themselves after at least six uses of the spell. The Bombarda spell can be dished out twice as many times at full power and be moderately fatigued, but Bombarda Maxima was a very powerful move that could potentially kill a person if used on one.

Well, he could have figured that out as it was said to be used for _demolition_.

Another one such curse was Expulso, the so-called brother curse to Confringo. Sirius had once told him that Pettigrew had used Confringo to blow up the street filled with Muggles. According to the book, the main difference between the two spells was that Confringo uses the rise in temperature to cause an explosion while Expulso uses the pressure increase, which eventually causes an explosion. Harry knew Confringo, he had used the spell before, but he couldn't use it in the Third Task as there was only limited space and he had no desire to explode himself.

"Hem-hem." Harry nearly groaned out loud when he heard the noise near him. He focused on keeping his face perfectly blank when he looked up at the woman who is the reason for his Fifth Year being a complete mess. Umbridge was beaming at him for some reason, and it made Harry want to rip the toad-like woman's hair off and strangle her with it.

_That got dark quickly._ He thought amusedly.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked in a sweet tone that made her eye twitch.

"Mister Potter, what did you and Miss Granger discuss with Professor McGonagall?" Knowing Umbridge wouldn't take, 'it's none of your business' for an answer, Harry panicked for a second. Glancing at Hermione, at the spot where the Prefect badge used to be, he picked up a perfect story.

"Well, originally, Hermione and I went to Professor McGonagall as Hermione wanted to ask her why I hadn't been made Prefect." Harry lied. Umbridge's eyes narrowed.

"I see."

Harry nodded, "Yes, and Hermione was stressing herself out because of her OWLS so she decided to drop her Prefect position to focus on her studies more." The class suddenly went hush at the proclamation. Umbridge didn't look satisfied by his answer if the scowl on her face was any indication.

"Is that all, Mister Potter?" Harry put on a faux-thinking expression and eventually shrugged.

"I don't tell lies, Professor," Harry said with a dark look directed at her and he felt compelled to actually blast her to oblivion when her smile seemed to take a satisfied undertone.

"Good, good. Please, continue." Umbridge walked off her heels clicking on the hard floor. Harry glanced at Hermione sideways only to find her looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"That was very impressive, Harry," Harry smirked.

"I know. Appreciate the comment though." He said smugly.

It took an aggravatingly long amount of time, along with several attempts by Umbridge to goad him into detention, though Harry didn't rise to her. Hermione kept him in check, mostly grabbing his knee or hand to keep him calm. It worked but left him vowing revenge for every comment that woman made. Thankfully, his book distracted him well enough until the two classes were done. After the classes were done, Harry quickly took his books, not glancing at Umbridge at all, with Hermione on his trails.

Soon, Hermione had dragged him to a mostly empty corridor, "Woah, Hermione. Not that I mind, but you need to at least buy me dinner first." Harry said, blushing slightly.

Hermione ignored him and said, "Look, Harry, we need to talk about your Occlumency lessons and we need to talk to Padfoot about a few things." She gave him a pointed look and he gave her an exasperated look, but caved. He wanted to talk to Sirius anyway.

"Alright."

It took him a moment to remember the mirror that Sirius had given him before the start of the year. A simple, slightly battered-looking mirror that was enchanted for long-distance communications. Harry's brain quickly studied the possibility of learning about all of the secrets of Dumbledore's Order. Heck, it was probably the reason Sirius gave him the thing, to listen in on the Order's meetings. It was easily much more fool-proof than the Weasley twins' Ears.

Focusing back on their conversation, Harry caught what Hermione said, "...I think I've found a book in the library about the basics of Occlumency. You don't mind that I learn with you, right?" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Please, Hermione, do I even need to answer that question?" Harry said teasingly. She only smiled.

"Okay, then. I'll meet you in the empty classroom on the Third Floor. The one opposite the Portrait of the Black Rabbit after dinner, got it?" Harry nodded.

Harry watched her smile once more and walk towards the general direction of the Gryffindor Common Rooms. Ignoring the glares, stares and more disturbingly leers from several members of the female population, Harry looked at his companion.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but why did you suddenly decide to think of Occlumancy and the spell to hide books from Umbridge?" Hermione stopped for a second before continuing to walk. Harry blinked but caught up quickly.

"Hermione?"

"Harry," She paused for a second, "...people who are responsible for your safety never do anything to ensure it. I know that you don't like how I constantly look up to authority figures... but I've… always admired them." She sniffed, "When I was in Primary, I was bullied a lot. They used to call me buck-tooth bookworm and other such highly endearing nicknames." Hermione said bitingly. Harry said nothing, just looking away, he had endured something similar in his own childhood. Hermione's face softened, "Teachers made me feel safe from bullies." Harry swallowed thickly. Hermione's willingness to make friends a cheeky, sassy and hotheaded prat like him made him suspicious that she had been a victim of bullies in her life too. She was probably desperate for friends, so much so that she became friends with him.

Harry wasn't an idiot. He knew he tended to annoy people with his sharp tongue and sassy attitude that was reminiscent of Sirius. He and Hermione somehow knew the other was bullied all their lives. Whether it was just suspicion rather than outright knowing didn't matter.

"I'm... sorry?" He said, slightly unsure. He had just broken her trust in the people that she trusted the most, but at the same time, she finally understood how he felt about authority. Call him selfish.

Hermione grinned, "It's okay, Harry. But…" She took a deep breath.

"If they aren't going to ensure you being safe, then I will." She said firmly and looked around. Seemingly satisfied, she quickly stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. Harry froze.

"You are the most important thing to me in Magical Britain, I'm not going to lose you to any snake-faced bastard." She said in a growl. Harry simply gaped at her.

Hermione smirked, "Of course, who's going to push me to do better in Defense if you die?"

For once, his sassy attitude failed him.

-x-x-x-x-

Review


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Harry entered the empty classroom, the portrait swinging shut behind him. He was wearing a red sweater over his usual white shirt and navy pants standard of Hogwarts and black shoes. He found his best friend sitting on one of the desks, a large book on the table, her brown eyes looking over the contents.

He smiled at her when she turned her head at his arrival. He hefted the sack containing the objects that she had asked/ordered him to bring. He had shrunk each of them with the Reducio Charm so that he could fit each of them inside the small sack.

For today, she had asked him to bring his Invisibility Cloak, the Marauder's Map, Sirius' Mirror, and he had put his wand in his back pocket. He remembered the advice of Mad-Eye Moody on how it was dangerous to keep his wand in the back pocket as it had caused one of the people he knew to lose a buttcheek.

Yeah, he'd like to avoid that, please. He'd have to look into other ways to holster a wand.

"Hey, 'Mione, do you know of other ways to holster a wand?" Hermione looked slightly surprised at the sudden question. Putting on a thoughtful expression, she nodded slowly.

"A few Runes would suffice, perhaps I could research- Oh wait, A Wand Holster! Most Aurors use them, it's standard Ministry Issue. It goes on your wrist." She said pointing at his wrist. Harry gave an 'oh' at her information. He remembered Tonks, one of the members of the Order of the Phoenix using one to place her wand into. He'd have to get one for himself, Hermione and Ron. It's inevitable that they'd run into Voldemort and his followers someday, and he had to make sure that his friends and their family were absolutely prepared for it. For himself, it was only Sirius and Remus and they could take care of themselves to a certain extent.

"We have a Hogsmeade visit next weekend. I'll go and get a couple of them." Harry said. If he couldn't find them in Hogsmeade, which was likely considering he didn't know everything that was sold there as he didn't explore the village completely, he could Owl order them from Diagon Alley. It would probably cost more than buying it in person, but a few more galleons were a petty sum for him. Especially if it meant that he could get his wand out quicker in the event of a surprise attack.

Christ, when did he become so paranoid?

Speaking of paranoia, he'd probably have to use an owl other than Hedwig for owl ordering service. His owl was beautiful and easily recognizable, he wasn't about to risk his friend.

Great, Moody was rubbing off on him.

Hermione nodded, "That's a good idea. I think I know a shop that sells such items." She said. She looked at the sack he had brought with him and perked up, "Oh! You've brought everything?"

"If by everything you mean everything in my trunk that matters, then yes," Harry said dryly. He looked at the classroom once more and saw many of the benches arranged away so that they had a lot of space for practicing spells and such.

"That's good like I said, I found a book in the Library about Occlumency. Originally, I was going to give it to you to help you with your lessons with Professor Snape, but I think I know how you feel about them." She said with slight amusement in her brown eyes. Harry scoffed.

"'Clear your mind!'" Harry said in a mocking imitation of his most hated Professor, "How exactly was I supposed to do that again? 'Clearly, fame isn't everything'." Harry mocked the man who had hated him from the very beginning for looking like his father. A man who has been dead for a decade and a half.

Hermione smiled in amusement at Harry's imitation, "'Clear your mind' sounds about as helpful as 'the instructions are on the board'." Hermione said sarcastically. Harry smirked.

"Oh? Hermione Granger is actually insulting a teacher?" Harry said in a faux-wondering tone. He didn't need to know the answer, he knew Hermione hated Snape as much as he did and the only reason she was respectful of him was that he was a Professor.

"'Teacher' is a very loose term." She replied dryly. Hermione shook her head and chuckled, "He's loads better than Umbridge though. At least he knows what he's doing." Harry nodded reluctantly. As much as he hated Snape, he had to admit that he does know his Potions.

He then smiled wistfully, "To think I was actually looking forward to the first Potions Class." He muttered, but Hermione heard him. She looked at him with a surprised expression.

"Really?" Harry smiled wryly.

"Yep, my cousin used to play RPGs. I used to sneak into his room and play when they were gone. Many Fantasy RPGs have Alchemy and I used to dream about making a Potion that would make me buff so I could fight back against Dudley and his friends." Harry said with an amused smirk.

Hermione giggled, "I take it you and your cousin get along just as well as Sirius and Professor Snape?" She asked.

Harry grinned, "Yep, except he used to bring his friends and they used to play a game called 'Harry Hunting'. I don't have to explain what it meant, do I?" He had meant it to be sarcastic, but Hermione's face lost all traces of amusement. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"...You know Harry, sounds like you've had it worse than I did." Harry snorted.

"I didn't realize that we're having a competition." He said sarcastically. Hermione smiled wryly.

"True, well, enough of that, let's talk to Padfoot quickly." Harry froze and groaned. True, he did want to talk to Sirius, but knowing him and how reckless he can be, he wouldn't be surprised if Sirius stormed to Hogwarts to have a 'talk' with Umbridge. It was the main reason why he never told what the woman was making him do.

"Now, Harry, you've agreed to this, in fact, you suggested this," Hermione said, hands on her hips looking at him sternly. Harry scowled.

"I know, it's just that I'll have to make sure Umbridge doesn't get murdered by a crazy overprotective dogfather." Hermione laughed, clearly understanding that would be the most likely scenario.

"I'll lock the door." She said pointing at the portrait door. After she had locked the door using 'Claustro', Harry pulled out the mirror.

"Engorgio." Harry said tapping his wand against the mirror and waiting until it was back to its original size. He then tapped it once and said,

"Sirius Black." He said in a low tone.

For a moment the mirror was blank, only reflecting Harry until the image dissolved and was replaced by a happy-looking Sirius Black.

"Godson!" The man greeted happily. Harry smiled at him.

"Godfather!" Harry greeted with a faux-pompous tone.

"Good to see ya, kid. I was beginning to wonder if you didn't like your birthday gift." Sirius said with a bright smile that seemed to erase the man's wrinkles.

Harry gained a guilty expression on his face, he hadn't meant to give his godfather that impression, "I love it, Sirius. I'm sorry I didn't call, it's been a few rough weeks here at Hogwarts." He said guiltily.

Sirius waved off his apology, "It's alright, Harry. I know you've got a lot on your plate," He said, then he smiled mischievously, "so, did you get laid yet?" Harry choked on his own spit at the question.

"Wha?" Harry 'said' with wide eyes.

"Get laid, kid. You know, get in bed with, shag, have sex." Harry looked absolutely gobsmacked at the way the conversation was going. He was sure his cheeks red and that the flush was probably reaching his ears.

"No, Harry has not, 'gotten laid', yet." An arctic tone made both Harry and Sirius freeze and Sirius gave a look of horror.

"Er… Hermione, hi! Yeah, I was just, you know, uh, looking out for my godson." Sirius smiled innocently while his eyes betrayed his horror. Sirius had commented many times that Hermione reminded him of Lily Potter and Harry knew that his mum had quite the temper. She was also a huge sticker to the rules.

"Is that so? Asking your fifteen-year-old godson if he has lost his virginity yet is what you call 'looking out'?" Hermione asked Sirius blankly. Harry made a noise at the back of his throat.

"Can we stop discussing my sex life, please? Thank you." Harry said quickly and saw Sirius nodding vigorously, "And Sirius, just because you can't go an hour without humping the leg of everything with breasts doesn't mean I have to do the same thing." He was similar enough to Sirius already.

For a moment, Sirius looked shocked. Then after a moment's pause, he burst out laughing. Harry raised an eyebrow at his hysterical laugh.

Finally, Sirius managed to get a hold of himself and said, "Sorry, kiddo, but that's exactly what your dad said in our Sixth Year after he stopped jinxing people who annoyed him." Sirius said with a fond smile. Harry snorted.

"I guess that's about the time he started to change." Sirius nodded with a smile still firmly in place.

Harry had Sirius and Remus tell him stories of his mum and dad over the weeks he had spent at Number Twelve. The more Sirius told him about his dad, the more his dad seemed like a bully. It was horrifying to him, to hear that his own dad was a bully, something he despised with his entire being. Remus confirmed that they did indeed bully Snape, which would explain the man's severe hatred of Remus and Sirius. It had taken an extreme dress down from his mum and his parents dying for James Potter to finally change and mature into the man he'd been told was an opponent even Voldemort respected.

It didn't excuse his behavior, but hearing that even his hatred for Snape didn't stop his dad from saving Snape from being killed by a transformed Remus Lupin in their Sixth Year.

"Anyway, moving on," Harry shook himself from his thoughts at Sirius' voice and looked at a still fuming Hermione.

"Relax Hermione, he's a dirty old man," He ignored Sirius' indignant 'hey', "but he means well." Hermione narrowed her eyes at Sirius and huffed.

"Fine." Sirius beamed at Hermione.

"Great! So what did you want to talk about? Anything… special I need to hear?" Sirius said slyly. Harry blinked before blushing once again. He watched from the corner of his eye that Hermione was slightly red as well.

"Padfoot," Harry growled. Sirius grinned at him.

"Sorry kid, I'm going crazy listening to Molly and there's no entertainment in this damn place unless Jones is here." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Didn't know you could go crazier than what you already are," Hermione said dryly with a smirk. Sirius scoffed.

"I'll have you know, girly, that I'm perfectly sane. Never been better." Harry grinned at his godfather's sarcastic reply. He knew that Sirius hated staying there, but he couldn't think of any place that would suffice for the Order to have its meetings. Except perhaps Hogwarts but Umbridge was here and that was a risk that cannot be taken.

"Anyway, Harry has something to tell you." Harry froze. Sirius looked interested, his face losing humor and instead gained a curious expression.

"Oh? Go on, then." He said, looking at Harry. He swallowed thickly.

"Uh… well, you see Sirius, there's a new Defense Professor in Hogwarts this year." Harry said slowly. Sirius gave a deadpan look.

"Um, duh." He said sarcastically. Harry cringed.

"She… sort of hates me." Sirius raised an eyebrow as Hermione glared at Harry.

"More than a certain greasy git?" Sirius asked. Harry paused.

"She makes him seem like the fairest Professor in Hogwarts." Sirius raised both eyebrows in disbelief. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting that answer from him and Harry could see why. It was hard to find someone who hated Harry more than Snape except perhaps Voldemort. Sirius let out a disbelieving noise.

"Wow, that's... surprising." His eyes narrowed suddenly, "What has she done?" He demanded suddenly and Harry flinched

"Well, for starters she's been giving me non-stop detention since the start of the term." Harry started slowly and Sirius narrowed his eyes once more.

"And? I refuse to believe that you've called me just because she's been giving you unfair detentions." Sirius replied. Hermione, as if knowing that Harry wouldn't answer, quickly took over and said,

"She's been making him write lines with his own blood."

For a moment, it seemed like Sirius didn't hear her. But he very clearly did, Harry could see he did. Sirius' eyes took on a murderous glint, and his face was stone. He looked up for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. When it didn't seem to help, he looked back at them.

"I'm sorry," He snarled out, "Did you just tell me that, that… bitch is making you write with a Blood Quill?!" Sirius demanded furiously. Hermione looked a bit nervous now, Sirius looked unnerving when he was nearly shaking with rage.

"...Uh, I didn't know that it was a Blood Quill is, but uh, yeah." Harry said, slowly removing his bandages and showing his hand to the man. Sirius growled and Harry heard several items breaking and banging against each other in the background. Sirius looked at Harry's hand and snarled out,

"I'm going to kill that bitch. I'm going to kill her." He said grabbing his wand and standing up. Harry shook his head vehemently.

"Sirius, stop! Stop!" Hermione said sternly.

"Give me one good reason why!"

"I'll give you three, one, Dumbledore wouldn't allow you!" Harry shouted over Sirius' voice.

"Watch me!"

"Two, you're still a wanted felon and Umbridge would get Aurors to arrest you!"

"Dammit!" Sirius growled.

"Three, I can't lose you, Sirius. I don't know what Umbridge would do to get you arrested if she finds out that I know where you are. Look, just stay there, sit down." Sirius looked stubborn and absolutely fuming.

"Sit down!" Harry said sternly. Sirius didn't look like he'd do it for a second, but he eventually sat down and Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Christ, you're even more hot-headed than I am," Harry said wryly.

Hermione snorted, "Yes, except you can control it sometimes and he can't." She said amusedly. Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Whenever you're done." Sirius deadpanned.

Harry smiled at Sirius, "Look, Padfoot, I can't lose you. I… the only adult I trust is you and I need your advice. Oh, I also need your help with a few things." Sirius looked reluctant, but he nodded eventually.

"Alright, alright, I won't rip the toad to shreds. Tell me that you have a plan that will at least get her in Azkaban." Sirius asked. Harry exchanged a look with Hermione.

"Sort of, I've been working on a plan, but I need help from inside the school. So you're out." Harry said. Hermione looked at him with a surprised expression.

"You do?" Harry grinned sheepishly.

"As I said, it's a work in progress, I'll need a bit of help from our favorite twin pranksters, and that's about what I've gone through in my head so far," Harry explained. Hermione pouted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.

"I've sort of thought about it on the way to this room," Harry admitted. Hermione and Sirius stared at him. Hermione finally said,

"This room? It's a five-minute walk, three minutes considering your fitness level." Harry blushed slightly. Yeah, his fitness level was something that could give professional athletes weep, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as Oliver Wood. Heck, even Remus might be more muscular than his scrawny hide.

"Well, he plays Seeker, what do you expect?" Hermione blushed, for reasons Harry couldn't grasp, while Sirius seemed to smirk. Hermione knew of his fitness naturally, as well as seeing him shirtless for the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

"My fitness and quick thinking aside, I have other things to discuss with you. Hermione?" Harry prompted his brown-haired best friend. Hermione nodded and looked at Sirius,

"Sirius, do you know anything about Occlumency?" Hermione asked the escaped convict. Sirius nodded quickly.

"I know the basics, is this about Snivellus and his Occlumency lessons?" Harry looked at Sirius, slightly surprised. He didn't know that anyone else knew about, and he uses the term lightly, the 'lessons'.

Sirius snorted darkly, "Most of the Order does. Dumbles and I had a huge argument about it and eventually, Snape got dragged into it. Again, like most of the arguments I've been having with my fellow ladies and gentlemen of the Order, I lost it." Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. Harry frowned.

"Sirius, don't let them walk over you, the house is yours not Dumbledore's or certainly not Mrs. Weasley's," Harry said encouragingly. Sirius just shrugged.

"I know that, but nobody listens to a crazy Azkaban escapee as much as they do a man who is the Leader of the Light and a woman who screams like a Banshee," Sirius said shortly. Harry sighed.

"I hate the way they've been treating you." Sirius gave him a wry grin.

"If it's any consolation, I hate the way they've been treating both of us. Only Bill and my little cousin seemed to treat us good. Remus is not here most of the time, he rented a hotel not too far from here." Sirius said, slightly sad that his best friend did not want to stay with him to give him company.

"...It isn't any consolation if anything it makes me even more pissed on your behalf and mine." Harry deadpanned. Hermione snickered.

"Anyway, how do you know about Harry's lessons?" Hermione asked Sirius. Harry gave Sirius a look, indicating that they weren't done with this conversation yet. He inclined his head in acknowledgment.

"Oh yeah, Dumbledore insisted that Snape was the best in teaching you Occlumency. I told him that you two hated each other, Dumbledore insisted. Eventually, Molly began screeching that I should be grateful to Dumbledore and that he knew best." Sirius shrugged. Harry took a deep breath.

"Why don't you just send them back, Padfoot? It's your house." Harry asked.

"Because as annoying as she is, it's better than wallowing by myself in this house. You sure Dumbledore can't twist the one pet per student rule?" Sirius asked Harry, even though he could see his Godfather was joking.

"He probably can, Padfoot. But I'd rather not risk it, I've taken to keeping Hedwig in my own dorm rather than in the Owlery with the rest of the owls. I wouldn't put it past Umbridge to 'accidentally' do something to Hedwig to get at me." Harry said, scowling at the mere mention of Umbridge. Sirius sighed in disappointment.

"...So, let me guess, Snape is treating you horribly?" Sirius asked rhetorically. Harry nodded with a frown.

"All the greasy bat does is point his wand at me, yell 'clear your mind' and just use Legilimency on me. And he isn't going easy either, I can barely reach my own bed at night Sirius, the bastard is doing this on purpose. I can see it." Harry said and Sirius growled once again.

"That greasy son of a bitch!" Hermione yelled 'language!', " I told Dumbledore, but the old man just says, 'Ah, I'd trust Severus with my life.', for fuck's sake!"

"Sirius!"

"Be quiet!" Sirius snapped, and Hermione flinched and Harry looked surprised. He knew his godfather had a bad temper, but this was worse than Harry himself.

Sirius blinked, looking at Hermione, who looked shocked and hurt. He sighed softly, "Sorry, kid." Sirius mumbled awkwardly. Hermione huffed.

"Honestly, Sirius, I get that you hate him and he hates you, but there's no need for such language, nor is there any need for such noise." Hermione pointed out. Sirius winced, he had clearly forgotten that little tidbit.

"Yeah, yeah. Look, if you want, I'll send you a book from Black Family Library about the Mind Arts." Sirius offered. Harry put on a thoughtful expression. But Hermione interrupted.

"But Sirius, didn't you say the books in your library are dark?" She questioned and Sirius shook his head.

"No, not all the books are dark. Dumbledore might disagree over which is dark and which isn't, but trust me, when you've got the most powerful Dark Lord in recent memory after you, you'll need all the help you can get." Harry frowned, unsure of how to react over the thought of learning dark magic.

"Harry, if it helps, both your mum and dad knew dark magic. Or what Dumbledore considers dark, but they're just very powerful and hard to control. I know that if anyone can do it, you can." Sirius said comfortingly. Harry hummed and nodded.

"Alright then. I think you're right, but for now, send the book about Occlumency and Legilimency. I'm too tired to actually practice any spells." Sirius smiled sympathetically.

"It's a good thing Legilimency or Occlumency don't take a lot of time. Snape's instruction, dare I admit it, was correct, but there are several steps that need to be taken before getting there." Harry wondered if Snape expected him to know those steps even if had never even heard of Occlumency.

"Maybe he expected Harry to take those steps himself?" Hermione suggested.

Sirius shook his head, "When someone uses their wand to perform Legilimency it's always much more powerful than one without a wand. A battering ram technique, which is what Snape always uses, is never a good idea to use on someone who has never used Occlumency before. If anything, it might make the situation even worse." Harry gritted his teeth, anger rising at Snape. The man might have left him worse than he already was! Sirius paused, "You might want to ask some of your Pure-Blood friends or classmates about instructions on how to perform Occlumency, Harry. Every Pure-Blood family member is taught the basics of Occlumency. It's essential to preserve family secrets." Harry frowned.

"I guess I'll ask Neville." Hermione nodded.

"That would be for the best." Sirius shrugged.

"Knock yourself out. Longbottom family doesn't have that many secrets so it's unlikely that Neville might know it. Frank probably learned it after becoming the head of the family but I don't remember Alice having any Occlumency training." Harry sighed in frustration.

"Then I'll have to ask some of the Slytherins." Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Harry smirked.

"I'll just have to speak their language." He replied secretively. Hermione frowned.

"Okay, I know for a fact that you won't speak Parseltongue on them, what do you plan to do?" She demanded. Harry smirked again and shrugged.

"That's for me to know and you to unsuccessfully guess." The idea of a Defense Club may have some merit, after all. Just not that large scale.

"Alrighty then, Kreacher!" There was a muttering. Sirius shouted at something out of the mirror's range. Sirius dropped the mirror making it reflect the ceiling. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other awkwardly. After a minute or so, Sirius appeared and tossed something, presumably at Kreacher.

"Get it to Harry." Harry heard Sirius ordering over the mirror, it was slightly muffled as Sirius wasn't facing the mirror. Finally, there was a 'pop' and another 'pop' on their side. Harry and Hermione glanced over to see Kreacher, who dropped the book on the ground rudely and popped away. Sirius was scowling and Harry was exasperated.

"Sirius, before you start yelling, you just said, 'get it to Harry', you never said anything about 'give it to Harry'. That's what that little bugger chose to interpret it as." Harry said before Sirius could blow a gasket.

"I know. Great, even the Black Families House Elves are Slytherin." Sirius grumbled. Hermione smiled slyly and hopefully.

"Maybe you could-"

"Set him free? No, he'll just go to dear Narcissa and worse, Bellatrix. Trust me, having Bellatrix know what we're going to do is the worst thing that can happen." Sirius said grimly. Ignoring the disappointed Hermione, Harry picked up the book.

"'An Introduction to Mind Arts', by Orion Black?"

"My old man. Quite the genius when he was alive." Harry nodded. Then he gave him a thoughtful look.

"Sirius, maybe you should give Kreacher an order to interpret the words exactly how you say it. What if you said 'get out' and he decides to take it as permission to leave the house?" Sirius paled.

"Fuck, you're right. Kreacher!"

There was another pop indicating that Kreacher was there in front of Sirius, "You will interpret my words exactly the way I speak it. Secondly, I forbid you from talking to anyone who I haven't given permission to talk to. Mainly, Narcissa and Bellatrix. Am I understood?" Sirius ordered firmly.

"Yes, Master. Filthy blood traitor, that you are."

"Thirdly, you will speak to me and everyone else in the house, including all the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry respectfully."

"Yes, Master."

"Good, you can go," Sirius ordered. He looked back at Harry and Hermione. "I should have done that ages ago, now the nasty little thing won't be able to annoy anyone." Hermione scowled at him, noticing this, Sirius sighed.

"Look, kid. I'll send you another book, read this one, it's pretty short. Knowing you, it'll probably be over during the night." Kreacher popped in once again and handed the book to Hermione. Hermione took it, looking confused.

"'House Elves: A Study'? What is this?" Sirius smirked.

"'Why you shouldn't set a House Elf free', in a nutshell." He answered. He looked at Harry and smiled.

"Is that all?"

"For now, good to see you again, Sirius. Take care of yourself." Sirius grinned.

"You too, Prongslet."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"They can die?" Harry asked a horrified Hermione.

It had been nearly fifty minutes since they had spoken to Sirius, and Hermione had decided that they can stay for at least an hour and a half more, until eleven. Hermione had taken to the book of House Elves quickly. Occasionally explaining some random point about them that made Harry slightly curious. But other than that, Harry had been practicing his Occlumency. It barely required any magic. It mostly required patience, for the most part. Patience was slightly hard for him, so Hermione had suggested meditating. Hermione randomly used a Calming Charm on him to calm him down when he gets agitated for staying in one place for a long time.

He had tried to clear his mind as much as he could and had succeeded for the most part. The book instructs the reader to build one's own defensive barrier. The barrier can take any form, as it is up to the imagination of the person. Harry had decided to make his the maze in the Third Task of last year's Tri-Wizard Tournament. He modeled it after the limited space that he had seen, including the Acromantulas, Sphinx and other creatures. It was difficult to do even this much, which was common, as it requires a lot of practice to hold the barriers.

When a witch or wizard manually sets up their Occlumency Shields, it is built from the ground up. Normally older members of the families help their children to build their shields, but Harry was on his own as Sirius can't help him without risking himself. When the shield is to the person's satisfaction, the magic fixes it as the general Occlumency shield, as in what most people would see when they enter his mind. Harry imagined it to take the form of the maze in the Third Task. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and Harry intended to do more.

That was when Hermione interrupted him.

"Yes, they die!" Hermione wailed. Harry blinked.

"Uh… explain?"

"A House Elf is a symbiotic being, they feed off the… master's magic to survive. Without the bond between the House Elf and the Master, they cannot hold their own magic! Don't you get it? They're purely magical beings, and without their magic, their bodies wither out and they die! I've been asking people to kill House Elves!" Harry didn't know that. But what Harry did know was that Hermione had been knitting clothes and leaving them around random places. When House Elves go to clean them off, they get released. Thankfully, no elf has done so, as Dobby explained to him. Most elves refused to clean them and only Dobby picked up the clothes after Hermione. It makes sense why most House Elves dislike Hermione so.

Quickly getting up, Harry made his way briskly to the hysterical witch and sat down next to her. She looked like she was about to have a panic attack.

"Hermione, calm down, you didn't know," Harry said, patting her shoulder awkwardly.

"But Harry, the elves hate me! Now I know why! I tried to kill them!" She cried out. Harry felt really awkward at the sight of a crying female. He gingerly wrapped an arm around her.

"Okay, but it's never too late to change you know, maybe you can apologize to the elves. I'm sure they'll understand that you didn't know that they'd die without the bond." Harry tried to comfort her.

Hermione sniffed, "Yeah right, why would they? I'm probably their equivalent of Tom Riddle." Harry tightened his grip on her shoulder and narrowed his eyes while gritting his teeth.

"Never. Ever. EVER. Compare yourself to that… that… monster. You're far from him, you only saw them as your equal and wanted them to feel the same. Besides, can you tell me the name of any Muggle-Born or Muggle-Raised student who knows such a thing? I sure as shit didn't and I'm the bloody Boy-Who-Lived." Harry joked. Hermione snorted.

"Language."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Harry said with an awful imitation of the American accent.

"...Do you think they'll forgive me?" She asked softly.

"Of course, just apologize and promise them that you'll never do something like this again, that's all it will take," Harry said encouragingly. Hermione sighed.

"Okay, I guess I'll talk to them tomorrow." She said solemnly.

"It's alright, Missy Grangy, ma'am!" A voice squeaked. Harry's wand was out in a flash and he tossed out a Stunned before he even knew what was happening. Hermione gasped, and the same voice squeaked once again. There was a noise of wood breaking, and something falling to the ground.

Harry blinked and saw that there was a small, watery-eyed elf, a female probably guessing from the voice, looking at him, "Master Harry Potter, sir is a naughty boy!" Harry blinked again.

"I am?"

"Master Harry Potter sir broke furniture! Don't worry, Nipsy fix!" The tiny elf snapped its fingers and the broken table fixed itself. Thankfully, Hermione had added a silencing rune to the room, so that no one would be able to hear them, they hadn't counted on a House Elf being able to hear them.

"Uh… huh, right, Nipsy the House-Elf, try not to startle me again." Harry ordered. The elf nodded its head hard enough that Harry wondered if he would have to catch it should it fall off.

"Of course, Master Harry Potter sir!" Nipsy squeaked.

Is Dobby giving lessons that I don't know about? Harry wondered as he watched the House Elf look at him as if he was Merlin himself. Hermione giggled at his expression, before looking at Nipsy.

"What were you saying, Nipsy?" Hermione asked the little elf.

"Nipsy be saying that Missy Grangy ma'am doesn't need to apologize! Nipsy be understanding that Missy Grangy ma'am didn't know about us. Nipsy be telling other elves!" Nipsy exclaimed. Harry snickered at the 'Missy Grangy ma'am' while Hermione glared at him.

She turned to Nipsy and smiled, "Thank you, Nipsy. Please tell them that I'm sincerely sorry." She said softly. Nipsy nodded vigorously.

"Of course! Nipsy leave now!" The elf disappeared with a crack. Leaving Harry and Hermione staring at the spot where the elf was standing.

"So, Missy Grangy ma'am, do you plan on learning Legilimency and helping me with my defenses?" Harry sidestepped gracefully to avoid the Jelly Legs jinx from hitting him, "Ooh! Violent! you should control your temper, Missy Grangy ma'am." Hermione glowered at him.

"Call me that again, and I'll use the Reducing Charm in the worst possible way." Harry paled.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me, Beyonce." Harry paused and looked at her blankly. Hermione pouted.

"Oh, tell me you got that?" She asked. Harry nodded with a roll of his eyes.

"Of course I got it, Hermione. I'm not an idiot." Hermione scoffed.

"That's debatable."

"If you say so, Missy Grangy ma'am."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Review.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It took Harry a while, but he had a fair grasp on the basics of Occlumency now. He read about the 'mindscape' that the people who use Legilimency on him enter first, and he decided to keep the mindscape to be the Third Task's maze, with his thoughts being the place where the damn Cup was placed, except it was a chest. But then realized that it might not be a good idea to add traps that Master Legilimens like Snape, Dumbledore or Voldemort could easily break down. So he added several other creatures that he had the please of facing over his five years at Hogwarts.

Really, for the reputation of Hogwarts being the 'safest place in Britain', he sure seemed to get attacked as if he had rented a hotel near Death Eater den.

So he added the Basilisk. It wasn't hard to imagine the entire creature, considering it frequented his nightmares. He didn't actually imagine its eyes at first, as he had no idea what they looked like, but later on, he added hazel eyes like his father's to the Basilisk. A nasty little surprise for Snape should he enter his mindscape, finding the eyes of the man he hated in the eyes of the creature that could kill him with its gaze.

Harry had underestimated the stress he was putting his brain through. It wasn't hard to imagine what he had already seen before, but it was taxing on his magic when it was ingrained into his mindscape. So, he was dead tired by the time he had finished adding the Basilisk to his defenses.

A major part of an Occlumens' defenses were traps. It was easy to set up a mindscape, where the end destination is your thoughts. It can be as simple as your childhood room, or as complex as Hogwarts itself. But all it could do is to slow the attacker down, the real part of hurting the attacker was done by traps placed in your mindscape. All your mindscape does is slowing people down, but your traps weaken the attacker, then all you have to do is push him or her out of your mind. It sounds fairly simple, and it is to a certain extent but your traps might also be very taxing on your magic, which is exactly why a master Occlumens is so hard to find, while master Legilimens are… well, not they are common either but they are more common than master Occlumens.

He had no doubt in his mind that Snape was a master Occlumens, it was stupid to play spy if the leader of the side you're spying on was able to read your mind just like that.

Adding layers of protection to your mindscape is a clever idea. An example of this would be to add something like your basement to your mindscape which could be your childhood room.

Alas, the only way of becoming better at Occlumency was testing it against the power of Legilimency. It was like a muscle, if you continue to push it and train it, it would eventually become stronger and thicker. Snape was the only one who could do it other than Dumbledore, but the old man was avoiding him for some reason, so Harry wouldn't go to him. Snape's battering ram technique was stupid to use against someone who had never tested their barriers before if anything it could potentially destroy his mindscape and make him weaker for Voldemort.

No thank you.

So, having Hermione learning Legilimency was the best way to proceed. He had given the girl the book, and he wouldn't be surprised if she finishes it by morning.

Hermione suddenly froze. Harry blinked and watched as she cast a Tempus charm. The time was nearly one in the morning. Huh, it seems that they had taken a longer time than he had originally thought or planned.

Hermione turned to him, "Harry, we need to go. I don't know about you, but I at least need two hours of sleep for my brain to work in perfect capacity." Hermione said huffily. Harry shrugged.

"You aren't the only human who needs to sleep, Hermione." Harry said dryly, as he bent over to pick up his Invisibility Cloak and draped it over himself and grabbing the mirror and the Marauder's Map, "Ta!" He said cheerfully and made himself invisible to the world.

For a moment, Hermione just stood there, stunned. When she heard the door clicking, she turned around and her face twisted in rage, "Harry James Potter!"

Harry moved the cloak partially and grinned at her. "Hehe, just kidding. Get in here." Hermione huffed and stepped into the cloak and Harry draped it over her petite body, it helped that he was quite taller than Hermione, so now they were completely invisible to the world.

"You had me panicked for a second, there," Hermione said lowly. Harry smiled down at her.

"Only a second?"

"Please, I knew you'd come back, Potter." She said, looking up at him with a grin. Harry shook his head amusedly. Of course, he'd come back.

They carefully avoided Filch and his cat. Snape was also stalking about for some reason, looking more like the bat that most Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs joke that he is. The man mostly just looked around vacantly, before just stalking away. It's highly possible that he had taken Insomnia Potion to stay awake, as the vacant stare reminded him of the effects he had seen in Seamus last year after a 'mishap'.

No Slytherin was involved, of course.

They bid each other goodnight after reaching the Common Room, the Fat Lady looking at them disapprovingly. Harry reached his bed, cast the Silencing Charm on people who snored, namely Finnegan and Thomas.

After five minutes of meditating and getting his thoughts together, slamming his Occlumency shields down hard, Harry fell back on his bed, and for the first time in a while, Harry Potter slept peacefully.

-x-x-x-

"Mornin', Harry." Neville greeted sleepily as he nearly sank into his chair. Harry turned his bleary eyes onto his friend. Neville Longbottom looked like he had not had a peaceful sleep if the dark circles under his eyes were any indication.

"Morning, Nev. World treating alright?" Harry asked him. He was naturally grumpy in the morning, and it was generally not a good idea to antagonize him unless he had at least one cup of coffee. Dobby knew this and had gotten him and Hermione his usual dose of caffeine.

"About as well as I can be treated, yeah," Neville said with a shy smile. He turned to look at something behind Harry and frowned.

"Harry, look at Luna." Harry raised an eyebrow and turned to face the Ravenclaw table where their newest friend, Luna Lovegood was staring longingly at them, while several Ravenclaws, especially females, shot her glares that seemed to be specifically made to melt her into a puddle.

"What's the matter with them?" Harry nearly hissed. He hated bullies.

"I think it's 'cause she became your friend." Harry gave Neville a confused look. Neville grinned slyly, making him raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"That's the members of your fan club," Neville said coyly. Harry blinked twice.

"I have a fan club?" Harry asked blankly. Neville chuckled.

"Yeah, Ginny's the president, I think. Heard Lavender and Parvati talking about it back in Third Year." Harry slowly put his goblet down and stared at Neville as if his ears have turned into dragon wings.

"I have a fan club and no one ever told me?" Neville blinked.

"Uh, yeah? Ron told us that you're uncomfortable enough about girls, and probably wouldn't appreciate us telling you that you have a bunch of girls that practically stalk you." Neville explained slowly and his voice losing confidence as he continued along with the explanation. He looked a bit miffed when he justified, "In our defense, we thought you already knew."

Harry looked surprised, "Huh. What do you know, Ron can actually read feelings for once." Harry said sarcastically, but he looked happy.

"You're not angry, are you?" Harry waved him off.

"Nah, it's okay, Nev. Probably the right decision." Harry looked around himself, "You don't think anyone actually follows me to the boy's dorm and watches me sleep, do you?" Neville turned slightly pale at the suggestion.

"Y-you know, I'm not really sure," Neville said, a bit creeped out. Harry looked at Luna, who looked her usual dreamy self, but she was glancing over at him occasionally. Harry looked back at Neville.

"Should we invite her here? You know, to eat with us?" Harry asked. He wasn't exactly sure if it was within the rules. If it wasn't then Umbridge would take it as yet another opportunity to assign him detention and he would never forgive himself if Luna and Neville were dragged into Umbridge's tirade against him.

"I don't see why not." Neville shrugged. Harry nodded and got up and walked over to the Ravenclaw table. As usual, Harry was the center of attention to the hall, especially Umbridge who looked at his every move, scrutinizing him and looking for a weakness.

Neville looked really uncomfortable with the attention, as evidenced by his terribly blushing cheeks and inching closer to Harry, trying to make himself smaller and less noticeable.

The duo reached Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang, in particular, looked surprised and confused at his sudden interest in Raven's nest. She straightened up as if she was expecting him to talk to her, but Harry stopped midway and glanced down at the dirty blonde haired girl who was looking at him with her usual large, grey eyes.

"Hello, Luna. Would you like to join us at the Gryffindor Table?" Harry asked with a grin. Neville gulped.

"Y-yeah." He took a deep breath, "If you want to, of course." He quickly added. Harry nodded. Luna looked between the two of them with her large eyes, before her face lit up with a genuine smile.

"But, of course. This Raven accepts the invitation of the two Lions to join them in the Lion's Den." Luna said in her usual dreamy voice. Several of the 'Claws snickered. Harry glared at them, while Neville frowned at the laughs.

Harry smiled at the little blonde, "Alright, then. Come on," He said. He saw several Ravenclaws looked stunned at being ignored by him.

There were several Ravenclaws who didn't even bat an eyelash over the sight of one of their National Heroes taking Loony Lovegood to join them at the Gryffindor Table. But there were several people, many of whom were girls, Harry noted, ranging from Seventh Year all the way to First Years who looked like they were about to protest. Harry had no idea why girls who were not even teenagers yet thought that he would give them the time of day, but hey, such is the life of Harry Potter.

One, in particular, a Sixth Year, Marietta Edgecombe, one of Cho's friends if he remembered correctly, stopped them on the way. Harry simply raised an eyebrow, "Can I help you, Edgecombe?" She glared at him.

"Where are you taking her?" She demanded.

"To the Gryffindor Table."

"Why?"

"Are Wrackspurts clouding your head, Edgecombe? Or did you miss the entire interaction that happened barely thirty seconds ago?" Harry asked dryly. Her jaw dropped as did several other people's, Luna's included. Many were staring at him as if he had lost his mind. He probably had, but he thought he was entitled to a little loss of sanity after the crap he had been through.

Harry brushed past her, trying to hide his shaking shoulders, while Neville gave Marietta a wry smile, before following after him. After a moment, Luna followed them. Harry trailed a bit to talk to her.

"This isn't against the rules, is it?" Harry asked in a whisper.

"Of course not, it's actually encouraged for students to spend time at tables other than their own," Luna said in her usual dreamy tone. Harry nodded.

"Heads up, Harry. Toad incoming." Fred hissed at him, as they passed him. Harry nodded slightly and sat down beside Fred, with Luna beside him and Neville beside her.

"Hem-hem." Harry wondered if he could get away with stabbing her with the fork that he took his hand. It would be very easy. Maybe his image could be of use for once and help him get away with murder.

Harry blinked, no those thoughts were stupid.

"Yes, Professor Umbridge?" Luna asked with a dreamy smile. Harry looked at Umbridge, only to find her eyes fixed on him. He glanced at his fork again. Maybe he could get away with stabbing her in the eyes. He looked at the High Table, unintentionally catching Snape's eyes. The man sneered for a second before pausing and coughing. Harry wondered if he just smothered a chuckle. He wasn't entirely surprised that Snape had read his thoughts. He read that sometimes Legilimens can sometimes instinctively send out probes, and his Occlumency was not good enough to slam the barriers instinctively.

Harry glared at Umbridge's back when she glanced at Luna and asked, "Miss Lovegood, go back to your table. Five Points from Ravenclaw." Luna only stared at her with wide eyes.

"But why, Madam Umbridge?" Umbridge froze, a sickly-sweet smile still on her face.

"Excuse me?" She demanded.

"According to Hogwarts Charter, 'the students are encouraged to sit on their respective House tables only during the Opening Feast. During all other times, students are encouraged to sit with other Houses in order to encourage House Unity.'" Luna recited with a wide smile. Harry stuffed his fist into his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Neville's face was turning red, and Harry saw Hermione having the same expression on her face.

"There is no such rule!" Umbridge screeched shrilly. Harry coughed and pretended to choke on his food when she turned to glare at him. She turned back to Luna.

"Get back to your table, you fil-"

"I'm afraid, Dolores," Dumbledore's loud voice stopped Umbridge cold, "that Miss Lovegood is correct. It is indeed encouraged for students to sit at other tables. It was the hope of the founders to encourage House Unity." He stated and several students began to whisper amongst each other.

"Ah," Umbridge let out a shrill laugh, making several people wince, Harry saw Snape stab his fork into the table, Flitwick glancing at him amusedly, "well, rules can be changed. It is perhaps not a good idea for Miss Lovegood to sit with Mister Potter. He might be a-"

"I'm sorry, Professor." Luna's voice sounded cold and Harry's eyes widened, as did several others', "but Harry is my friend. Am I not allowed to sit with my friends, Headmaster?" She asked Dumbledore and Harry looked at her shocked, and a little awed.

"Nonsense, my dear. Dolores, I strongly advise that you return back to your gutter- I mean, back to your seat." Dumbledore said, smiling innocently. Harry's face was red, trying to smother his laughter. Luna glanced at him and smiled in amusement. Neville was biting down on his fist and Hermione was hiding her red face with her book.

"Man, Dumbledore is boss," George said, wiping tears of mirth as Umbridge sputtered in rage and ran away. Harry, gaining a devious idea, smirked. He grabbed his wand from his robe, carefully obstructing its view from Umbridge and was conveniently placed so that he could remove his hand quickly.

"Flipendo," Harry whispered amongst the laughs of the boisterous ones. The spell hit Umbridge's legs and she tripped and fell fast first her heels flying away and landing on her back.

The laugh this time was uproarious. No one bothered to hide it, not even Slytherins. Harry saw Daphne Greengrass looking at him with mirth, clearly showing that she knew he was responsible. Umbridge got up, looking like her face was about to explode, she grabbed her shoe and barked.

"WHO WAS IT?! I'LL HAVE YOU EXPELLED! WHICH ONE OF YOU WAS IT?! I'LL HAVE YOU IN AZKABAN, FILTHY DEGENERATES!" She shrieked though it sounded like she was furiously croaking at them so the students just laughed louder. She rounded on Harry,

"YOU-"

"Miss Umbridge." Dumbledore's voice thundered, "You will not threaten my students. I personally, did not see anyone," His eye lingered on Harry and was twinkling, "cast any spell at you. Did anyone else?" Harry expected Snape to stand up and accuse him even against Dumbledore's orders, but he didn't. Instead, the man looked more than a little gleeful of what was happening.

It spoke volumes about Umbridge that not even Snape sided her.

At once, all of them shook their heads. Nearly every head of the Houses was looking at Harry discreetly. Snape was even smirking at him!

Umbridge looked like she was about to explode. She promptly spun around, watching Harry all the way and glancing behind her back over and over again. As soon as she left the hall, The Gryffindors began to laugh once again. The twins looked at him and grinned.

"That was spectacular!"

"Pure awesomeness!"

"Yeah, mate! That was great!" Harry spun around to see his best friend, looking healthier than the previous time he'd seen him. Ron Weasley grinned widely and punched his shoulder.

"That was bloody wicked, that was," Ron said. Harry smirked.

"Thanks, you feeling better?" Ron nodded.

"Yeah, Madam Pomphrey wouldn't let me go 'cause she wanted me to stay in observation. Mental, that woman is." Harry grinned. Yep, Poppy was a bit overbearing but was genuinely a good person and he was practically her favorite patient. She might deny it, but he knew he was.

He even had his own bed that she never let anyone lie on. It even had his name on it.

"We've got Double Divination, the first thing," Ron said, sitting down and piling up food on his plate with his bare hands. Harry shook his head, Ron didn't know a thing about hygiene while eating.

Several Gryffindors groaned, the students who picked other electives smirked at them. Harry himself groaned, he didn't particularly feel like listening to Trelaway predict his death the first thing in the morning. Nor was he willing to smell her incense or alcohol. He still had no idea what he was thinking letting Ron talk him into picking the damn thing.

"I predicted that myself funnily enough," Harry grumbled as he took a seat next to Ron, Neville, and Luna still on his other side. Ron snickered.

"Let me guess, you used your inner eye to look at the schedule," Ron said and Luna giggled. Actually, she laughed uproariously. Ron looked a bit confused as well as amused at Luna's outrageously loud laughter. Ravenclaws were snickering while Gryffindors only looked amused at the girl.

Luna ended up leaning on him to get over her laugh. Harry chuckled, "Ron we better not be funny while Luna is here. She might just die of laughter at our amazing wit." Funnily enough, Luna ended up laughing again and it was quite amusing to see the girl laugh like she was being tickled mercilessly. Her cheeks were rosy and there were tears gathering in her eyes.

"That was funny!"

"Thanks."

The breakfast proceeded uneventfully from that time, much to the disappointment of some students. The Gryffindors had taken it upon themselves to hear Luna's uproarious laughter over and over again. The twins, in particular, had named her the 'Laughing Lady' and had taken to doing outrageously silly things to make the girl laugh. Harry was quite happy. It was the first time Luna had looked so free. Harry exchanged a grin with Neville, they seemed to have done the right thing. Harry tried to ignore McGonagall's proud look being directed at him.

"Hermione, what's this I hear about you giving up your Prefect Position?" Ron asked Hermione suddenly. The news had traveled fast, but Ron spending his time in the Hospital Wing meant he was slightly behind on the latest gossip of the Hogwarts news.

Hermione looked at him, "I'll explain later, Ron." She gave him a look that meant 'later'. Ron caught on quick and nodded.

Harry noticed that Theodore Nott had slipped away from the Slytherins quickly and moved towards the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Parvati.

Nott looked at the sputtering Gryffindors and grinned cheekily, "House Unity, my dear Lions." Parvati grinned flirtatiously and looked back at her fellow Lions challengingly. No one dared to say anything.

Most of them looked at Harry and Ron, they were infamous for their fights with Slytherins. Harry shrugged and Ron didn't look like he particularly liked the new arrangement but he said nothing, just shoveled food into his mouth.

Harry glanced at Hermione, "So, how is our... project coming along?"

Hermione looked at him over her book, "Not bad. I can do the probing, for now, it's not very strong, but that's exactly what we need, right?" She asked him rhetorically. Ron looked between them, confused.

"Uh, what?"

"We'll tell you later." They answered simultaneously. Ron looked a bit put out at the answer, but he looked resigned. It was an unspoken rule of the Golden Trio that if you were absent for planning then it's on you. It had happened to Ron and Harry for the most part, but Hermione was sometimes so caught up in her studies that they had to go and have fun by themselves.

"Fine." Ron sighed.

"Well, we've got five minutes before going to learn that we're going to die. Let's go?" Neville asked, ending his conversation with Luna. Luna looked at him, a hint of curiosity.

"I don't understand why you would pick Divination, Harry. Can you tell me why?" Harry grimaced.

"'Cause I'm an idiot," Harry grumbled and Luna tilted her head.

"But you need to be a seer for that course, not an idiot," Luna said, and Harry chuckled at her innocent words.

"I was an idiot for not knowing I was a seer."

"When did you find out?"

"When did I find out that I'm an idiot or when did I find out that I wasn't a seer?" Luna giggled.

"There's a difference?" Neville asked with a smile.

Ron chuckled, "I didn't see any."

"Wrackspurts must have been clouding your mind, when you picked the course, Harry. Why don't you switch courses? It would be much more beneficial if you learn Arithmancy, I heard you plan on becoming an Auror." Luna asked. Harry shrugged.

"That's what I thought, too. But now I don't think so." Neville looked startled.

"Why?"

"I think I've had enough of Dark Wizards for a lifetime, don't you think?" Harry asked, a bit darkly. Ron nodded, a bit reluctantly.

"...I guess. So what do you plan on doing?"

"A Cursebreaker? Your brother says it's a lot of fun, so maybe it's for me." Hermione chuckled, making the group look at her.

"I don't think so. You need to know a lot about Ancient Runes and a bit of Arithmancy if you're going to a Cursebreaker." Harry sighed. Ron looked a bit apologetic.

"Sorry, mate. I just thought Divination would be easy." Harry smiled.

"It's alright, you didn't know how bloody pathetic the subject was."

"You can still change the courses," Luna said. Harry blinked.

"I can?"

"Of course! You would have to ask Professor McGonagall about it, though."

"You're probably going to have to take the course with Third Years, though. I don't think McGonagall would let you in with Fifth Years immediately." Neville commented. Harry scowled.

"That is if she actually listens to me. She'll probably think I'm being dramatic again, for all I know." Harry said, his tone indicating no argument whatsoever. The others exchanged confused looks, except Hermione, who looked sympathetic and patted his hand.

Neville looked embarrassed, "Sorry, Harry." He said. Harry shrugged.

"Not your fault." He paused. He had given his next statement some thought, and had come up with a conclusion, "I've given your... plan some thought." Harry said to Hermione, reluctantly. Hermione looked at him, shocked.

Then she squealed, "Really? I'm so-"

"Hold it, I'm not done." Hermione blinked, then pouted.

"Oh, come on, Harry. Conditions? Really?"

"Not conditions. Limitations. Only this group." Hermione frowned.

"But Harry, the others deserve a chance as well." Harry snorted darkly.

"I'll consider it when they stop trying to hex me where I stand," Harry replied. Hermione looked reluctant. Harry glared at her, daring her to refuse him. Hermione gulped at his fierce expression. Knowing that he wouldn't budge, probably recognizing that he was just a stubborn as she was, if not, even more, when he was pissed, sighed.

"Fine." She smiled slightly at his grin, "Luna, Neville, Ron, we have things that we want to discuss with you. Meet us at the empty classroom on the Third Floor opposite the portrait of the Black Rabbit after... dinner, okay?"

Luna nodded quickly, "Of course, should I bring Gurdyroots to ward off the Gulping Plimpys?" The question was very innocent. So much so that Harry could only reply with,

"Sure, if you believe that they're necessary," Harry answered. Luna squealed.

"Splendid! Don't worry, Harry! I'll make sure to keep Wrackspurts off of you as well!" She patted his head. Harry, amused, said,

"Thank you, Luna."

-x-x-x-x-

"Potter, a word, if you will." Harry stopped in his tracks. He was once again wearing his school uniform, with the tie removed, along with the over-robe. He had just been on his way to the empty classroom that he had been with Hermione when he was interrupted.

"Harry?" Harry turned to look at Hermione, who was looking at the person who had called him.

The person was a blonde-girl, with ice-blue eyes and a blank face. Harry raised an eyebrow. Of all people, he expected Daphne Greengrass to be the last to come to talk to him. Her reputation was well known. She seemed to have taken care not to approach him during dinner, which was weird as he swore that she kept looking at him.

"It's fine. I'll meet you later." Harry said, not taking his eyes off of Greengrass. The girl's attitude looked as cold as ever, but there was a hint of curiosity in those blue eyes of hers. His friends frowned.

"Are you sure, Harry?" It was Ron who asked the question. Harry saw that the redhead had a scowl on his face, and his hand was moving towards his wand. Knowing it wouldn't be a good idea, Harry shook his head.

"Yeah, she wouldn't hurt me," Harry said, directing a cheeky grin at the cold-Slytherin. She narrowed her eyes and made an impatient noise, "Quite the patient one, aren't you?" Harry asked.

Greengrass looked down her nose, even if she was at least three inches shorter than he was, "I'm not here to fight."

"Yeah, it because it would be a really good idea." Ron snarked.

"Ron, enough," Harry ordered. Ron stiffened and looked at him, confused, "It'll be quick. Don't worry." Looking reluctant, the redhead complied. Hermione, Luna, and Neville followed him, with Hermione giving him a significant look.

Satisfied, Harry turned to the blonde Slytherin, "So, what's up?" She looked mildly confused at his lingo. Harry sighed, 'damn medieval world' he muttered, he looked at her fully and said, "What did you want, Greengrass? Did you come to declare your undying love for me?" Harry deadpanned.

Greengrass glared at him, completely unamused, "I overheard you talking about your defense club." Harry tensed immediately, the smirk on his face was gone. Now, he fingered his wand in his back pocket.

He licked his lips, and nodded, "I thought we were being quiet about it." Harry remarked. For the first time since he'd met her nearly five years ago in the Potions Class, Greengrass had a smirk on her face.

"Nott." Harry raised his eyebrows.

"And pray tell, how did you manage to talk Nott into spying for you?" Harry asked in a dry tone.

"And why would I tell you how I made him do it?" She said, her tone cold. Harry smirked.

"So, you did _make _him do it. You didn't just ask him as a favor, you made a bargain. Judging by the fact that you called him 'Nott', and not 'Theodore' or 'Theo', means you're acquaintances at best." Harry summarized. He looked at the blonde and smiled, "How am I doing so far?"

"Good. Seeing as you know Nott's nickname 'Theo' means that you know him to some level. Your summarization of what I said from only a sentence means you are far more clever than people give you credit for. You are also more than confident in your abilities, and far more aware of your surroundings as you were sure that you can handle me... without even caring that I might be having someone around me to... assist me." Greengrass said, her eyes narrowed, her voice going low at the last word.

Harry grinned, "If you wanted to attack me, you would have done so already. If you had someone here, then they would have already attacked me, seeing as I am alone. Since you brought up the, as you say, Defense Club, I can only assume that you want to know something about the... club... go on." He said.

Greengrass nodded, "I am, indeed." She paused, "How much do you know about Magical Oaths, Potter?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Enough."

"I am willing to give you one to prove that I mean no harm." Harry contemplated this for a few seconds. If she was willing to give him a Magical Oath then she has something very important that she needed his help with, or she was just softening him up to get her to trust him until she gets one of her buddies to attack him.

"Why?"

"In return," She paused once again, "In return, all I ask is to be included in your... lessons. You don't need to trust me, but I can assure you, I have no interest in wearing a mask and kneeling in front of a half-witted fool." She answered.

Harry blinked, "You believe?"

Greengrass smirked, "Yep, do you really thing Malfoy can keep a secret? Please, the ferret has already begun his crusade to get as many people kneeling in front of Dark Wanker as possible." Harry chuckled.

"I can imagine that to be the case." Harry smiled. Then he stood there contemplatively. Greengrass was essentially asking a favor out of him, and while he had no problems adding one more person to the group after she gives her Oath that is, he was still a bit reluctant to trust her.

"What's in it for me?" Greengrass looked surprised.

"Huh?"

"I said, if I teach you defense, what's in it for me?" Harry asked, taking a step closer. Greengrass blinked, clearly surprised.

"I... don't know. I thought that-"

"I'd be a good little Gryffindor and agree, just like that? Nope, don't worry," He said when he saw her look as if she knew where this was going, "I won't ask for anything like _that. _You see, I need a Pureblood who has knowledge of a certain art. Maybe, if you take an Oath, then I'll consider your request, of course, you have to fulfill your end of the bargain." Harry said, doing his best imitation of Sirius's usual aristocratic expression.

Greengrass's lips were pursed, her expression was thoughtful. Harry didn't know where her bargain came from, but it came at an opportune time for him. While trying not to sound too calculating, her Oath essentially makes sure that she will never join Voldemort so he doesn't need to be worried about her using what he teaches against him. At the same time, she could teach him Occlumency, which would help him against Voldemort too. If she disagrees, then he probably won't see her again, which didn't really ruffle him too much. It was a win-win situation for him, and it was essentially handed to him on a jeweled silver plate.

On Greengrass's side, she had an opportunity to learn Defense, this was most likely to do with Umbridge's non-existent teaching skills. On the other hand, it seemed like it was really important for her to learn how to defend herself since she was giving so much thought for what was essentially a win-win for him. He mentally went over what he knew about her family, which was... not much. Other than the fact that she had a little sister who is currently a Third Year and in Slytherin.

He has to know more about her so he can trust her, maybe the library has something about her family. Or better yet, he can call Sirius to ask him about what he knew of the Greengrass family. Most of the students in his year were probably, at some point or another had attended Hogwarts with his parents, so Sirius or Remus might have information about them.

"You don't have to do this, of course. I know you're weighing the pros and cons right now," Greengrass looked at him with a calculating expression on her face. Harry slammed his basic Occlumency shields down, though he was pretty sure that she can't perform Legilimency.

Finally, she took on her usual expression, "I'm not going to divulge any family secrets." Harry shrugged.

"That's alright, I don't particularly care for your family secrets. So, do we have a deal?" He asked. Greengrass nodded, a bit hesitantly.

"...Very well, Potter. Would you like me to give an Oath now?" Harry thought it over and nodded. She sighed. "Alright," She took her wand out, and Harry placed a hand over his own, just in case. If she noticed, she didn't say anything.

"I, Daphne Isabella Greengrass, swear on my magic that I am not a member of Lord... V-V-Voldemort's," She took a deep breath, "group, nor do I plan on becoming one. I also swear that I would never willingly betray Harry James Potter or any of his friends. So mote it be." She said and she glowed slightly. Harry looked her over, and she shuddered.

"It's only a name," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. Greengrass gave him a look but said nothing.

"When is our first meeting?" She asked, however, it seemed like she already knew the answer.

"Now, actually." He paused, "Unless you want to wait for another time?" She shook her head.

"I don't mind now. If you'd rather I wait, then so be it." Harry shrugged.

"...Now." He bowed mockingly, "After you." He said waving his arms in front of him to point in the direction where his friends had gone. Greengrass scowled at him and walked in front of him. It seems like she already knew why he wanted her to go before him.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Harry, are you sure about this?" Hermione asked him for what was probably the seventh time. Harry groaned.

"Hermione, I already told you that she can't hurt me without losing her magic. She made an Oath in front of my eyes, you know, my eyes? Meaning, I saw it?" Harry asked sarcastically. Hermione's face pinked a little and she huffed.

"Well, sorry for being worried about our safety." Harry sighed.

"Yeah, I know. But, as I said, she can't hurt me or betray me or any of you without becoming a Squib. If you don't like the fact that she's here... well, she is. Deal with it." He directed the second sentence towards Ron, Neville, and Luna.

Neville shrugged, "I don't mind her being here, if you trust her, then okay." Harry wanted to correct Neville that he doesn't trust her but thought better of it. Ron was red in the face, but he looked resigned. Luna was frowning, and Harry's eyes narrowed. Is Daphne one of the people who bullied Luna?

"...Has a certain Asian girl left you alone yet?" Luna asked Daphne softly. The other blonde stiffened and glared at Luna.

"Why do you care?" She asked coldly. Luna smiled.

"So she hasn't then? Don't worry, Harry will help you. He has for me." Harry frowned, wondering what she was talking about. 'Asian girl'? What Asian girl? Cho Chang? Was that who they were talking about?

Daphne looked down, "It doesn't matter. So are we going to be going over pointless questions, or are we actually going to learn something today?" She asked dryly. Harry crossed his arms.

"Alright then, gather around," Harry called out. Giving each other amused looks, they complied. Harry saw that Hermione and Ron were standing beside each other while Luna, Neville, and Daphne were slightly behind them. Harry nodded.

"So, we are all gathered here because of our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, the Minister's pet Toad has teaching skills equivalent to that of an actual toad. So, slightly against my will, Hermione and I have agreed that I'll teach you Defense necessary for you to pass your OWLS. Any questions?" It was Daphne, of course.

"Why you?"

"When I was forced to participate in the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year, I practiced spells ranging from Fourth Year to Seventh Year. I may not be perfect in all of them, but I know more than what most do." Daphne nodded. Neville raised his hand slowly.

"Yes?"

"Um, so, if anyone d-d-doesn't perform well..."

"Then I'll help them perform well. Hypothetically, of course."

"What's first?" Hermione asked him. Harry frowned thoughtfully. Then he smiled,

"Alright then, we'll go over one of the most basic skills necessary in Duelling. The Disarming Charm. I'm sure you all already know this spell, but I want each of you to show me how it's done and then I'll show you how to make it more powerful..."

-x-x-x-x-x-

_Review Please._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After the first… 'class', perhaps would be the right term, Harry had decided to put the sessions on hold until he manages to find a suitable place for the group to use. It had far too many people to accommodate within an abandoned classroom. It would have worked if his friends took turns, but they were impatient, especially Hermione and Daphne. They weren't happy that the sessions had to be put on hold, but they couldn't do anything about it. After the class, Harry had sat down with a couple of his friends in the Common Room and discussed the possibilities.

The first suggestion was the Common Room itself, but it was quickly shot down. Firstly, Harry had _no_ intention of teaching a large group, as the other Gryffindors would no doubt want in, it would become a large group, as regardless of what Harry said, Hermione would accept more members. Secondly, it was far too dangerous and space would get cramped if others were to surround them to watch. Third, there's no way any of the Gryffindors would allow Daphne, a Slytherin, into their Common Room.

Then, Hermione, ever the clever one, had suggested the Chamber of Secrets.

Not only was it accessible only to him, making it nearly impenetrable, but it was also large enough to accommodate the group. Actually, it could probably fit the _entire_ House of Gryffindor inside it, and that was from what Harry had already seen of the Chamber.

But Harry was a bit reluctant. The place held a lot of bad memories for him as well as Ginny, who he had agreed on introducing into the group. Plus, the Basilisk's body would still probably be down there, and he was hesitant to see it again. The last thing he wanted was to give fuel to the nightmares that keep him up at night, which had become more frequent. He had finally stopped having such dreams about the Chamber last year, but after Snape's Occlumency lessons, where he was forced to relive them _again _as if once wasn't enough already. Now, they were very frequent once again.

He had reflected on it over the night and had come to a decision. So the next day, Harry had decided to go to the Chamber to scout it out and find a place away from the Basilisk, as he wouldn't be able to move it. He was still unsure of his decision, but when Ginny Weasley, the little sister of his best friend, and someone who has had similarly traumatizing experience in the Chamber, said that it was a good idea to face their past, had strengthed his belief that he had made the right decision.

However...

"Ginny, are you _sure_ you want to do this?" Harry asked looking back at the said redhead girl. Ginny swallowed nervously and twirled her hair with her finger.

"...No, not really." She admitted softly, before looking him right in the eye, "But I've got to face it, right? It was in the past, and I, as well as you, should face it." She took a deep breath and straightened herself.

Harry turned slightly and looked at the girl from the corner of his eyes, "It's alright if you don't, you know." He said, slightly awkwardly. Ginny snorted.

"Come on, Harry. I've just managed to get my resolve back and now you're making me back out?" She said teasingly, though the nervousness in her brown eyes gave her away. Ignoring it, Harry grinned.

"Alright then, How about you go in and make sure that there's no one in?" Harry motioned towards the bathroom that was just around the corner. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"So I'm acting as bait, then?" She said with a blank expression on her face. Harry rolled his eyes.

"No one will think anything of it if it's _you_ who goes in there, but it wouldn't be the same if _I_ went in there, now would it?" Harry frowned, thinking of a flaw, "That's a problem. How will we explain a gaping hole in the bathroom? Or better yet, what are a bunch of boys doing in a girl's toilet?" Harry said with a sigh.

Ginny blinked, "You're right, it _is_ a problem." She said with a frown. Then her eyes brightened, and she leaned close, "What about your Cloak? We can expand it to fit enough people inside it." She suggested. Harry leaned away slightly, coughing awkwardly with a small blush on his face. Thinking it over, he nodded slowly,

"Okay, that takes care of the boys in girl's toilet part, but what of the 'huge hole in the ground part'?" Harry asked, peeking around the corner and looking around. Ginny tilted her head,

"...I'm drawing a blank." She admitted. Harry sighed, rubbing the back of his head. He shuffled his tie around and loosened it enough so it wouldn't suffocate and the sleeves of his white Hogwarts shirt were rolled up and the shirt itself was untucked.

"...We'll figure it out later, I guess." He replied with a sigh. Ginny shrugged and said,

"So, you want me to scout out the bathroom, make sure no one's around?" She asked, seemingly for conformation. Harry nodded, "Hmm, so we're going to a private place and making sure we're alone... _is that it_?" She purred.

Harry stiffened and looked at the girl with wide eyes. Did Ginny, Ginny Weasley who couldn't utter a single word in his presence without stuttering, actually flirt with him?

Looking offended, she huffed, "Oh, come on, it's not that surprising." She said with a pout. Harry chuckled nervously, not wanting to offend her.

"...It kind of is, you know. For me, that is." He clarified. She sighed.

"Was I really that bad?" Ginny asked. Harry grinned.

"I wouldn't call it bad. It was adorable actually, now that I think about it, but it was, er, awkward." Harry said. Ginny gave him an embarrassed grin.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I've gotten better now, as you can see." She paused for a second, "You know, I think this is the first real conversation we've ever had." She said.

"Hopefully the first of many, many more." Harry smiled. Ginny grinned again.

"Good, wait 'till I give a signal then. 'Kay?"

Harry nodded and watched as she walked towards the girl's bathroom, which is actually, the secret entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. Heh.

Leaning against the wall, Harry smiled. It would be nice having another person to talk to about the shit he had been through with someone who understands. As much as he loved Ron and Hermione, they couldn't understand about Voldemort or how guilt works. He nearly chuckled as he realized that it was indeed the first conversation that he had ever had with Ginny that did not result in her trying to duck out of the room. He had tried a few times in his Second Year, but it didn't work. In his Third Year, the girl couldn't even look at him without becoming as red as her hair.

He nearly cursed out loud when he felt a sharp pain shooting across his scar. With a small yell, he fell to his knees, grasping at the blasted thing. Feelings of great anger, hate and sadistic glee shot across his body.

When he opened his eyes, it wasn't the wall opposite the one he was leaning on previously that was in front of him. It was a kneeling man, who looked at him with a blank gaze.

_"Rise, Severus." Harry heard himself say. But it wasn't his usual voice, it was the cold, raspy voice of Tom Riddle, a.k.a Voldemort. Snape rose to his feet and bowed._

_"My Lord," He heard Snape mutter._

_"How fares the boy, Severus? What is he doing?" He demanded. Snape bowed again,_

_"My Lord, Potter is as incompetent as always. I have been giving him Occlumency Lessons at Dumbledore's insistence and the boy had yet to learn a thing." He said with disgust in his voice._

_"Occlumency lessons? Why?"_

_"It seems that Dumbledore seemed to realize that keeping the boy's mind unprotected against a Master Legilimens such as yourself," He bowed deeper, "and myself is a bad idea." Snape snorted slightly, "How idiotic."_

_"And why is that, Severus?" He asked with slight amusement._

_"My Lord, there would be no force in the world that can stop you from killing the boy should you so desire it. Invading his mind is child's play."_

_Voldemort seemed to smile, "Good. Severus, I presume you're making sure that he learns nothing?" It wasn't a question. More of a statement and the glee in Snape's voice as he described his 'lessons' was unmistakable._

_"Indeed, I am. I am taking great pleasure in invading his mind and forcing him to relive the horrors he had had in his life. Perhaps it would make it even easier than it already is to invade his mind now." Snape said, smiling nastily. Voldemort laughed._

_"How very nice of you, Severus. You are indeed one of my most trusted followers." He ignored Snape's 'thank you, my lord' and added, "But when you say you've made it easier for me to invade the boy's mind…" Snape stiffened at the cold tone, "doesn't it mean that you believe I cannot invade it easily without you?"_

_Harry felt disgusted with himself as he felt a sadistic glee when Snape's eyes widened in horror. He knew it was Voldemort's emotion, but it was still quite horrifying to think of himself looking gleeful as a man nearly trembled in fear of what torture might await him._

_"No, My Lord! That isn't-"_

_"Silence!" Snape fell silent immediately. There was a moment of silence as Voldemort raised his hand and Harry had to watch as he said,_

_"Crucio," Voldemort said, almost lazily. Snape gasped and fell forward on his face. Harry felt Voldemort's emotion and saw respect. Then a thrill of pleasure shot up him when he added more power, making Snape let out a nearly silent scream. _

Harry gritted his teeth, watching the man writhing on the ground in clear pain. Remembering his Occlumency lessons, he stopped himself from watching in the struggle. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. He cleared his mind completely of thought and focused on pushing himself out of Voldemort's mind rather than pushing Voldemort out of his mind. He felt Voldermort pause in his torture and look at himself confused.

Before Voldemort could comprehend, Harry felt himself 'retract' his mind from Voldemort. He opened his eyes again and saw crimson irises staring back at him before his visions darkened once again.

"Harry!" Harry gasped and sat ramrod straight. He looked around his surroundings with wide-eyes. He was no longer in the blank room with nearly pure black walls but was back in the same area where he had been before. When his vision blurred again, he shook his head. He regretted it immediately afterward, however, when it felt like his brain was slamming into the walls of his skull.

His eyes finally fixed on a concerned pair of brown eyes as they looked at his wide green ones.

"What?" He breathed.

Ginny seemed to let out a breath and wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him tightly. Harry stiffened.

"Oh, thank Morgana." She breathed in his ear. Harry didn't return her hug but didn't push her away either. Eventually, she moved her arms away and helped him to his feet. He blinked, he hadn't even realized that he had fallen flat on his back.

"W-what happened?" Harry gasped out. Ginny looked like she was nearly in tears.

"I don't know! I just came back from checking for someone when you were there, but when I came back, you were screaming! I panicked and-and thought of calling Madam Pomphrey or taking you to her, but then you seemed to stop screaming and-and- oh, god, what happened to you?" She asked frantically. Harry swallowed thickly.

"I-I think I had another vision." Harry finally said. Ginny blinked her round eyes.

"Vision? Another?"

"About Voldemort," He ignored that she didn't shiver at his name like many others, "I saw him use the Cruciatus on Snape…" He said, nausea filling him up as he thought of the sadistic pleasure he felt at watching the man writhing on the ground in pain.

Ginny looked like someone had stuffed her socks with dead rabbits. Finally, she gulped, "... Um, okay, how about this? Let's go to the Chamber now. Quickly, someone probably heard you screaming." She said grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the bathroom.

Finally, when they reached the sink that is the entrance to the Chamber, she muttered, "Oh shit, here we go again…" She looked at him and nodded. Harry gave a shaky nod, shaking out the cobwebs in his brain, and hissed,

_$Open$_

Harry felt Ginny shiver when he uttered those words. He said nothing, fearing he might make it worse if he tried to say something to make her more comfortable.

The wait for the Chamber to open was tense, as Harry saw Ginny kept glancing at him and then the Chamber. There was apprehension in her eyes when she saw the hole down which Harry and Ron pushed Lockheart.

Ginny then frowned, "Wait, you didn't summon the stairs?" She asked. Harry blinked.

_$Stairs?$_ By the time he realized that he had spoken Parseltongue, it was too late and the hole had already widened to reveal stairs that had a layer of dust about two inches thick, marred only by small footprints.

Harry stared at the footprints. The thought of the small, shy redhead girl heading down these stairs with her eyes red and mind possessed by Riddle made his skin crawl. Ginny's grip on his arm tightened and Harry swallowed.

_"Crucio!"_ Harry gasped again when he heard the voice in his head. He used the arm that wasn't held in a death grip by Ginny to grasp at his scar.

Ginny looked at him concern, "Harry?"

Gritting his teeth, he slammed his Occlumency barriers down. He felt the pain recede slightly, and he prayed to whatever deity was up there that Voldermot didn't feel his presence in his mind, or the Occluemncy barriers slamming down. He ignored the leftover pain and said, "Later." He nearly snapped, regretting it instantly when he saw her flinch. Her grip loosened and Harry let out a breath,

"Sorry, it's just… I'll explain inside." Harry said, pulling her alongside to the inside of the Chamber. He saw Ginny nod at the corner of his eye, still watching him.

He saw Ginny shiver when they entered the opening, and moved a bit closer. She said nothing, only grasping onto his arm tightly. Moving forward, Harry saw the gigantic snakeskin that he had crossed in his Second Year and heard Ginny gasp.

"Holy shit." She breathed, "I don't remember it being _that_ big."

Harry smiled wryly, "Oh, the actual thing was even bigger." He didn't have the heart to laugh at the horror on her face. Before she could reply, Harry pulled her along to the entrance to the main Chamber. He ignored the hallway lighting up all by itself along the way.

Finally, they stood in front of the entrance. Giving a side-glance to the redhead beside him, Harry hesitated slightly and hissed,

_$Open$_

The doors slid open.

Ginny's eyes instantly fell on the gigantic Basilisk that had not changed at all in nearly three years that Harry had seen it. She gave a wail of horror and nearly fell onto her knees. Harry quickly caught her with a grunt.

"Ginny?"

Ginny continued to gape at the Basilisk. Harry realized that she had not caught a good look at the thing when she had been in the place the last time. It was understandable, she was facing away from it and was looking straight at Harry. _(A/N: I don't know if that's what happened in canon, but this is _my_ story, and this is what happened.)_

"...I-I-I'm so, _so_ sorry, Harry," Ginny said quietly, with a choked sob. Her eyes were filled with regret and guilt while tears fell out of them. Harry shook his head.

"It's not your fault, Ginny. Besides, it's in the past remember?" Harry replied, softly. Ginny shook her head and sighed.

"I should have realized it. I was stupid,"

"Ginny, it's fine,"

"Harry, it isn't fine. Who the _hell_ continues to write in a diary that writes _back_? How stupid is it to continue to write in it even after the Petrifications started _immediately_ after I started to write in it?" She ranted. Harry said nothing, knowing that she had to get it out of her system.

"...I remembered Malfoy dropping a book into my cauldron, and when it started to write back, I should have realized that itmust have been the one he put in the Cauldron. But I didn't! You... you... you, Hermione, Penelope, you all had to suffer because of my stupidity." Her voice kept rising but fell completely in the end.

"Why did you want to keep writing in it so desperately?" Harry knew the answer, but he wasn't so sure he believed it. Ginny sighed.

"...I don't know. Maybe it had a _Compulsion_ Charm on it? Maybe I just wanted to impress you... Tom told me that he'll help me to get noticed by you." She admitted quietly. Harry hesitated slightly but wrenched his arm from her grip. She looked like he had punched her. But her expression quickly turned into one of shock when Harry placed a hand on her freckled shoulder.

"Ginny," He began slowly, "You were eleven. Kids do stupid things all the time, and you're probably right. The diary probably had a _Compulsion _on it_, _I remember writing in it myself. I was sort of... _compelled_ to write it." Harry explained. Ginny scowled.

"Then how come you were able to stop?" She said, frustrated at herself. Harry shrugged.

"My mind is stronger." He said bluntly. She looked at him, surprised, "Think about it, I was able to throw off the _Imperious _Curse, do you _really _think a simple _Compulsion_ Charm would work on me?" His tone wasn't cocky, or arrogant, it was as soft and flat as usual. "Besides, we all do stupid things to impress our crushes." He said with a cheeky grin.

Ginny looked bewildered, and for a second, Harry wondered if he had just screwed up. Then she giggled.

"Thank you, Harry. For listening." Ginny said, with a small smile, dragging a sleeve across her face to clear it of tears. Harry grinned.

"Listening is something I can do. Offer advice? Not so much. Comforting? You'll probably just end up worse than before." Harry replied. Ginny smirked.

"You weren't so bad."

Shaking his head, he replied, "No, I looked at the situation logically. When your best friend is a creature of books and logic, you tend to pick up a few things from her." Harry said with a smirk.

"And what exactly did you get from _Ron_?"

It felt odd to have such a conversation with a sixty-foot Basilisk in the background, with the girl who had unleashed it, unintentionally, as she was trying to dry her eyes. But, it was oddly relaxing, and one that was sorely needed.

He smirked, "Laziness and hatred towards chess." He replied and she giggled again.

She shook her head, "This is odd."

"It is, isn't it?" He agreed.

A while later, after Ginny had gathered herself completely, they had begun to cast a spell, "_Lucerna._" He muttered and a light, almost as bright as his most powerful _Lumos_, shone at the tip of his wand. He flicked his wand upwards, and the light shot out from his wand. It floated in the air for a few moments and began to circle over his head. Ginny looked at the light in awe.

"That is _so _pretty!" She gushed. Harry smiled.

"Why, thank you." He replied. Ginny looked at him and gave a hopeful smile.

"Teach me that, _please_?" She pleaded, making her eyes larger and clasped her hands together, while jutting her bottom lip towards him in the most heart-wrenching pout he had ever seen.

"Of course." He blurted out without even thinking out it. Ginny squealed and tackled him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Harry huffed, and Ginny grinned brightly at him. He scowled at her, and she pouted again. He looked away, a small blush on his face. The expression, though he'd never say it to her face in fear of erupting Mount Ronald, Mount Fred and Mount George, was quite adorable.

Harry sulked for a moment before he got an idea, "Hey, hold on. Your brother, Bill, works for Gringotts, right?"

Ginny lost her smug expression and raised both eyebrows in question, "Uh, yeah. Why?"

"Why don't I just sell this thing?" He pointed to the gigantic Basilisk corpse. Ginny gasped.

"Of course!" She said brightly, "Basilisk skin is very, very rare. For Goblin kind, it's meat is believed to be a delicacy." She said. Harry blinked, then shrugged. He wasn't very surprised to think that Goblins ate Basilisk meat.

"Handy way of getting rid of it," Harry said with a smirk.

They looked around the Chamber, Ginny looking a lot more... 'comfortable' might not be the right term, even _he_ wasn't comfortable being here, but less horrified of being here. Come to think of it, it isn't a place that anyone would feel comfortable in.

With a sudden spark of inspiration, he called out, "Dobby!"

With a 'pop', the elf appeared in front of him. His large eyes even wider, he practically fell flat on his face when he bowed deep and said, "The Great Master Harry Potter sir, be calling Dobby! Great Master Harry Potter sir be honored by Dobby! What can Dobby be doing for the Great Master Harry Potter sir?"

"The 'great master' Harry Potter sir? Why, Harry, he looks like he's quite smitten with you." Ginny said, her eyes shining in mirth.

"Shut it, you," Harry replied with a mock-growl. Ginny laughed. Harry smiled and then grinned down at the elf, "Hello, Dobby. How are you?"

Dobby burst out in tears, "The Great Master Harry Potter sir be so kind! He treats Dobby as a friend! The Great Master Harry Potter be truly a kind wizard, sir. Yous a very kind wizard, asking Dobby how he is, Great Master Harry Potter sir! Dobby is doing fine, sir, all thanks to the Great Master Harry Potter sir!" Dobby babbled. Harry's head was spinning by the time Dobby was finished.

"Er, that's good, Dobby. A simple 'I'm fine' would have worked though." Harry said. Ginny giggled again.

"Of course, Great Master Harry Potter sir!"

"'Harry', please."

The elf promptly burst into tears again, "Master Harry be asking Dobby to call him by his name! Master Harry truly be a Great Wizard."

Ginny was nearly in tears by the time Harry gave a sigh and said, "Thank you, Dobby." He took a deep breath and a gave the laughing redhead a glare, he continued, "Dobby, I need this area clean and suitable for training for... nine people, do you think you can do that?"

Dobby's head bobbed enthusiastically, "Of course, Master Harry, but Dobby be not able to clean all of it by himself. Will yous permit Dobby to take another elf?" He asked. Harry shrugged.

"Sure?"

"Can yous be calling for Winky?"

Harry gave a start, "Winky? Will she listen to me?" He asked, remembering the alcohol-addicted elf.

"Of course, Master Harry! Winky be looking for a House to serve, and serving Master Harry would cure Winky of her depression." Dobby said sadly.

"Is she still on butterbeer?" He asked with a frown. Dobby nodded, "Well, that won't do. I'd rather she not die."

Ginny gave a start, "Die?" She asked incredulously.

"I'll explain later," Harry replied with a sigh, and she nodded with an expression that said, 'You better'. Harry nodded at Dobby and firmly called out, "Winky." There was a 'pop' and there was another elf, who looked at him sadly.

"What can Winky be doing for Master Harry?" She said quietly. Harry knelt down in front of the tiny elf.

"Winky, er... would you like to be my House Elf?" Dobby had said that he had bonded to Hogwarts and he had no desire to take the elf away from here, but Winky would be able to help him with several of his problems. Plus, from what he'd heard Hermione say about House Elves dying if they are left free for a long time, and Winky definitely falls into that category, he did not wish for her to die.

Winky looked at him in shock, "M-Master Harry is wanting Winky to be his House Elf?" She asked, and Harry could sense the hope in her voice.

He smiled softly and patted her on the head, "You silly little thing, why wouldn't I want you to be my House Elf?"

Winky blushed at the gesture, "...But Winky be a disgraced elf..." She replied sadly. Harry scowled.

"Well, not anymore, how do I make you my Elf?" Harry demanded. He didn't notice it but all three of them, even Ginny straightened up at his firm and demanding tone. Dobby looked at him in awe, while Winky looked nearly in tears.

"Harry, all you have to do is say 'I, your full name, claim, the elf's name, as my personal House Elf, so mote it be." Ginny supplied helpfully. Harry gave her a side glance and nodded. Winky looked at him hopefully.

"Alright, I, Harry James Potter, claim Winky, as my Personal House Elf, so mote it be." There was a flash of light that shot out of Harry and shot into Winky with such speed that she nearly collapsed. When it was done, she shuddered.

Harry looked at her in concern, "Is something wrong?" He asked. Winky shook her head and smiled brightly.

"Master Harry really is a powerful wizard! Winky is able to feel his magic, he will be a really strong wizard one day!" She exclaimed and Harry blushed and coughed awkwardly.

"Er, thanks."

"What can Winky do for Master Harry?" Winky said, no longer looking depressed. She even looked a lot better, with her body no longer as skinny as it was. Harry realized that it was because she was losing her magic and it was because of him bonding with her that she looked better.

"Winky, you will be helping Dobby clean up this place and make it suitable for a large group to train." He ordered. Winky tilted her head.

"What sort of spells will Master Harry and his friends be practicing?" She asked. Dobby nodded to her question.

"Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, practically everything. All sorts of spells." He answered. Winky nodded at Dobby.

"Of course, Master Harry." Both elves replied.

Harry was about to let them work, when Ginny interrupted, "Hold on a second, do you have a way of people getting in here without alerting anyone?" Ginny asked Winky and Dobby. Harry was surprised at her question and realized that it was probably a good one. House Elf magic was unique from what he had read in the book Sirius had sent them, so maybe they would know how to get people in here without alerting Umbridge.

Winky and Dobby looked at Harry for confirmation, "Go on." He prompted.

"Yes, there is. Winky and Dobby can _warp_ anyone here." Winky answered. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Warp?"

"Yous Wizards be knowing it as Apparition." Dobby supplied.

"Harry, they can side-Apparate us _with_ them! We don't even have to go through the entrance!" Ginny said excitedly.

Harry looked at the three excited faces and grinned.

-x-x-

"Good god, Potter. We're in the Chamber of Secrets!" Daphne nearly squealed. Harry smirked at her and she composed herself quickly, "I mean, we're in the Chamber of Secrets." She said, more calmly.

"I noticed." He replied dryly. She nearly pouted.

"How did you make this so suitable for us all?" She asked, looking around the clean Chamber of Secrets.

Winky and Dobby had outdone themselves. The Chamber looked brand new, with cleaner walls and the open mouth of Salazar Slytherin was closed after Harry had spoken in Parseltongue to close it. Harry had ordered Winky in secret to gather all of the books and other important objects they might find in the Chamber in a separate room that he had found while exploring the place. Winky had found a sleeping portrait of Salazar Slytherin that would awaken when one with the blood of Slytherin in them would awaken it. Winky had informed him that he could probably awaken Slytherin since he defeated the heir, Tom Riddle Jr. and hence the Slytherin Lordship was his by the right of conquest. Whatever that means.

Harry decided to put off awakening the portrait until everyone was gone. He did not want anyone to think he was a Dark Wizard or whatever as he was almost sure Ron would. He was almost a hundred percent sure that Riddle would want to kill him, so he needed all the help he can get. And a man who was renowned throughout Britain to be one of the greatest Wizards of all time. If at least one of the books Winky had found was written by Slytherin then it would give him an almighty advantage.

"Winky and Dobby. Winky is my new House Elf while Dobby is one of the school's." Harry replied. Daphne raised a blonde eyebrow.

"Dobby? Isn't that Lucius Malfoy's old House Elf?" She asked.

"Yep, I freed him. He bonded himself to Hogwarts after the Headmaster gave him permission." Harry said and Daphne smirked.

"How nice of you to... _relieve_ Lucius Malfoy of his elf." She said slyly, and Harry smirked back.

"How nice indeed."

"Harry! Winky is your House Elf?" Hermione suddenly demanded. Harry nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

She seemed to hesitate for a second, "I... I don't know, it still feels wrong." She declared. Harry sighed.

"Hermione, I'm not going to abuse her, remember? Winky is my friend. Much like you all are my friends." He replied and Daphne huffed.

"We're friends, Potter?" She asked.

"Yep."

She seemed taken aback by his quick answer and said nothing.

"I dunno, mate. This still feels sketchy to me. Where's the Basilisk?" Ron suddenly asked, pointedly ignoring Daphne's presence. Harry rolled his eyes.

"I used the _Reducio_ Charm to shrink it and put in one of the other rooms." He answered. He neglected to tell him that the spell had probably worn off and it had grown back to his original size in the room just to the right of him that he had sealed with Winky's help.

"Oh," Ron muttered. Harry glanced at the other two, who had yet to make a comment.

"Guys, thoughts?" He asked Luna and Neville. Neville shrugged.

"I think it looks a lot better than I expected. Though mind you, I was expecting a Medieval _Torture_ Dungeon. As for teaching, well, I think it works loads better than our other ideas." Neville replied before he pausing, before adding, "Though I think it would be better if be bring in training dummies for spell practice. I don't think you'll actually let us use dangerous spells on each other?"

"Sure, Neville. The first one is _Bombarda Maxima_." Harry said sarcastically. Neville chuckled nervously,

"Shame," Daphne said dryly, then she added, "If you want training dummies then you could ask the Headmaster, or perhaps Professor Flitwick. He would be able to conjure a few for us if you ask."

Harry nodded at her, "Sounds good. Maybe I'll get him to even teach a few times that he's busy. He was a Duelling Master and, though I've never seen him in action, is said to be powerful enough to give Dumbledore himself a challenge."

Hermione squealed, "Oh, Harry! Imagine if Professor Flitwick teaches us Duelling, it would be a lot of help against You-Know-Who!" She said excitedly.

"As it should have been." Daphne replied, "I was quite excited for the first Duelling Class in our Second Year, it seemed like a no-brainer for Flitwick to teach Duelling." She said.

"Then Lockheart happened," Harry said with a sigh. He turned to Luna, who seemed to be frowning, "Something wrong, Luna?" He asked. Luna seemed to nearly jump in shock, before looking at him with wide, well, wider eyes.

"This place is completely free of Wracksprouts!" She exclaimed. Harry smiled amusedly.

"So, you like it then?" Harry asked cheekily and she nodded with a bright smile.

"Well, Harry, you got us here. Now what?" Ron asked, standing next to his sister and Neville. As they all turned to look at him, Harry stood a little away and took out his wand. He looked at each of them in the eye,

"Now, my friends. I want each of you to divide into a group of two. Luna, you and Ginny in one," Said blonde girl moved to Ginny and they both shared a smile, "Daphne and Hermione," Both girls walked towards each other, and gave each other a nod, "Finally, the other two." Ron and Neville stood next to each other and grinned.

"What we'll be learning today, is Dodging. As you all know, Unforgivable Curses, that is, _Crucio, Imperio _and_ Avada Kedavra_, cannot be blocked. The only way to survive them is dodging them. My case is special and if you say something, you'll find that I can be very creative with the _Reducio_ Charm." Harry glared at the snickering duo of Neville and Ron that instantly shut up when he said that and blanched. Harry smirked, "As to why I have divided you into two groups is that one of you will be casting _Stinging _Hexes at the other, who will try to dodge them. Now, while these Hexes are weak, try not to aim for the eyes or the head area in general. Got it?" All of them nodded seriously, "Good, get to it. Try to keep your body fluid, use your hips and legs more."

"After five minutes, you will exchange roles. The other person will cast while the person casting now will dodge. Well? get to it." Harry said, doing his best impression of Snape. They all chuckled and moved into position.

-x-x-x-x-

Teaching was fun.

Explaining things gave him a sort of excitement that he hadn't found anytime else.

But, explaining Neville Longbottom that there was nothing wrong with him, was quite the challenge. You don't want to make the boy feel worse after all, but nothing could be said to make him feel better after he already thinks of himself as barely above a Squib.

"No, Nev. There is _nothing _wrong with you!" Harry said frustrated. Neville, of course, is a Lion, and Lions are stubborn.

"Then how can you explain that my wand movements and pronunciation of the spell is perfect, yet my work is so _weak?_" Neville said, looking down and nearly in tears. Harry sighed. Maybe he wasn't cut out for teaching after all.

"It's your wand." Luna's soft voice cut the resulting silence and as one, all heads turned to the eccentric girl.

"Huh?"

"Your wand, Neville. It isn't suited to you, the Nargles tell me." Luna said, her eyes her usual size. Harry's brow furrowed.

"Nev, what?"

Neville was frowning, "It's my dad's wand, why wouldn't it be suited to me?"

Hermione gasped, "Neville, Mr. Ollivander always told me that the 'Wand chooses the Wizard'. Just because your wand is suited to dad, doesn't mean it's suited to you." She explained. Harry saw Neville's expression turn even sadder.

"...Guess I'm a disappointment like everyone says I am."

"Longbottom, can you be any dafter?" Daphne said bluntly. Harry snorted, and she glared at him before ignoring him and continued, "My father's wand isn't attuned to me, either. It doesn't work if the wand isn't suited to you. My guess is that you are probably more like your Mother, but even then, her wand wouldn't suit you."

Harry smiled at his friend, "Daphne's right, Nev." Neville looked at him, "Owl your Grandmother, tell her what I said, and buy a wand suited for _yourself_. There are other ways to make your parents proud, you know."

Neville looked at all of them, before a small, hopeful smile broke out, "You really think it'll help?"

"I just spent the last few minutes explaining that, Nev." Harry deadpanned at him. Neville chuckled and wiped his eyes.

"Thanks, guys. I'll owl my Gran immediately."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Is this the room, Winky?" Harry asked his elf.

"Yes, Master Harry. Winky put all the books inside, along with Slytherin's portrait." Winky replied. Harry nodded and opened the door.

The interior was bland, with grey walls, with a table placed at the corner. There were at least twelve to fifteen, thick, oh god, very thick books tied with a white thread to keep them together. Several other smaller books were neatly arranged one over another. Right beside the table was the portrait of Slytherin.

"Thank you, Winky. You can stay if you want." He said to her. Winky smiled brightly and replied that she will stay as long as he is here. Honestly, he'd rather her be here. It won't take long for him to call her back, but what's the point?

Both of them walked towards the portrait.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched the portrait, and the man startled awake. Harry flinched back.

The man, who looked like he was in his early forties, smacked his lips a few times and blinked. He then yawned and stretched his arms outward. Harry saw the small tattoo of Hogwart's Crest over his left wrist.

Then Slytherin looked directly at him and said grumpily, "Well, it's about _damn_ time. I've been asleep for _far_ too long."

Oh, great.

-x-x-x-x-x-

**_I wanted to know your thoughts on what the pairing should be. I tried to come up with several pairings, but I would like to know what _you_ guys want._**

**_Write your suggestion in the review of PM me._**

_Please Review._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

_**I have been looking through the reviews, and it seems like most of you are looking for Harmony. It was the original pairing that came to my mind when I began to write this story. I've decided to include at least one fem-slash pairing, so if you would like, give some suggestions.**_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Er... good morning?" Harry greeted awkwardly. Winky deadpanned at him, and Slytherin nodded approvingly.

"Good morning to you as well, at least you don't lack manners," Slytherin said blankly. He looked around at Harry's surroundings and said, "Ah, we're in the Chamber? I'd have thought that you would take me out of here before awakening me."

"Er, Do you want me to?" Asked Harry. He had no idea what to expect from Slytherin. Would he want to stay here in the Chamber? Or maybe he would like to see the Castle? Hopefully, he would pick the former. If he was anything like what he had been told, then he'd rather not see him scream at every Muggleborn he'd find.

"_This _is my home. My Chamber, so I'll stay here." He replied, then raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Where's Nessie? I would have thought that she'd be ecstatic about seeing me again." His tone held the slightest bit of fondness.

Harry blinked, "Nessie?"

Slytherin looked at him as if he was stupid, "Yes, Nessie. My Basilisk." He replied. Harry nearly choked on his own spit. He looked around awkwardly, before looking at Winky for help. The little elf only smiled sheepishly and popped away.

Looking back at the portrait, Harry coughed awkwardly, "Oh, um, she's, uh, dead." Who in the name of Christ Almighty names a _Basilisk_ 'Nessie'? Like the Loch Ness Monster? Is this place connected to that lake somehow?

His eyes got round, "WHAT?!" He demanded. Harry lot a bit of his temper and said,

"Well, it, or she, I suppose, was petrifying students in the Castle. She had to be stopped." He replied, his voice flat and soft as always, but there was an edge to it. Slytherin blinked owlishly at him and asked,

"How is that possible?" There were disbelief and sadness in his tone. Harry assumed the question meant how the Basilisk, _Nessie_, that's going to take some getting used to, petrified people, so he tried to answer.

"The people looked through-"

"I know how that works, brat." Slytherin hissed, "I meant _why_ would she attack _students_?" He demanded. Harry scowled at his tone.

"Oh, I dunno, I thought that was what a Basilisk _does._" Replied Harry, with a touch of sarcasm in his voice. Slytherin glared at him.

"No, you dolt. How the hell are you so ignorant of your own blood?", He paused, looking at an irate Harry, "Do you not know that I placed Nessie here to protect the students? To attack threats from outside of the school?" Slytherin demanded. Harry lost his anger and simply looked at him surprised.

It was a damn good defense strategy to place a Basilisk inside a location that you would want to protect from outside threats. Its skin is mostly immune to magic and it's gaze when looked at _directly_, could kill, instantly. However, as powerful and difficult to beat as a Basilisk might be, he did not see the wisdom in placing a one in a _school_ filled with _children. _Just as he was about to voice his opinion, Slytherin suddenly cut in,

"Did Tom have something to do with it?" He suddenly demanded. Harry looked at him in surprise,

"Tom? As in Tom Riddle?"

"What is your name, child?"

"Harry Potter," Harry replied, confused. Slytherin frowned.

"...Potter? I was not aware of any descendants of mine that married into the Potter family." He mused, then he shook his head, "It does not matter. Are you related to Tom Riddle?" He asked. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know, I think he mentioned that I was a distant relative of his, though how accurate he was I don't know. But, what I do know, is that I wouldn't take his information at face value." Harry said darkly, thinking of the teenage Riddle that he met in this very Chamber.

"Huh, I thought you might be a brother or maybe his son or something. You do look alike, a little bit." He said examining Harry and nodding to himself, who nearly gagged at the thought of being _Voldemort's_ son. His father was James Potter, thank you very much.

However, he did know that he and Tom looked a bit like each other. Tom had mentioned it before when Harry first met his shade in this very Chamber, along with how they were also similar personality-wise. From that point on, Harry had suppressed the clever little Slytherin inside of him. He did _not_ want to be anything like the man who _killed _his parents and countless other innocents.

"...I am not his son. Nor am I his brother, he is the... man, and I use that term loosely, who killed my parents and has made it his personal life mission to torture and kill as many Muggles and Muggleborn as he can." Harry replied coldly, angry at being compared to that mad man. Slytherin gaped.

"What?!" He exploded, and Harry narrowed his eyes, "That... that doesn't sound like Tom. Granted, he didn't like the Muggle World, for he has never had pleasant memories from that place, but to kill its inhabitants?" Slytherin actually looked shocked at the fact. Harry scowled.

"Yeah, well, he was always good at hiding his true face to everyone." He said cuttingly, remembering how he was able to fool Dumbledore for the longest of time, at least until the old Headmaster caught wind of his actions and kept a, as Riddle said it, 'an annoyingly close watch' on him.

Slytherin looked at him as if he was stupid, "Slytherins pride themselves on deception, brat. What have they been teaching in your house?" Harry was about to reply that he wasn't in Slytherin, but the man cut him off, "It doesn't matter, tell me, who killed my Nessie?"

Harry stood up straighter, looking him right in the eye, and said, "I did." He replied flatly.

Slytherin snorted, "You? You're what, thirteen? And you expect me to believe that you killed a Basilisk who is nearly a _thousand years old_? Dream on, brat." He said dismissively. Harry's temper flared. If there was one thing he hated, it was being treated like a little kid.

"For your information, _old man_," He emphasized the term of 'endearment', "I'm fifteen, and yes, I've killed your prized Basilisk and I did it with the Sword of Gryffindor," Harry replied with a smirk, knowing the way he killed it would anger the older man.

As he had expected, Slytherin simply gaped, "What?" He breathed. Then his nostrils flared.

"Oh, made you angry, have I?" Harry said innocently.

"...So, you're in Gryffindor, then?" Slytherin said with a blank tone. Harry smirked, but it faltered when he thought of how he had been treated by his own Housemates in the years before, especially in the previous year, even Ron treated him like shit. Even now, they treat him like shit. He took a took breath, using Occlumency to calm himself down, and looked at the man challengingly.

"So what if I did?" He asked calmly. Slytherin shook his head and sighed.

"...Did the Hat at least consider you for Slytherin?" He asked, and Harry shrugged.

"It did, told me that I'd thrive in Slytherin, but I _asked_ to be placed in Gryffindor," Slytherin glared at him, and he shrugged again, "I didn't know about Magic back then, and I met a boy who showed me the meaning of the word 'annoying'. Besides," He paused, keeping his expression blank, he continued, "I wanted nothing to do with the house of the man who murdered my parents."

Slytherin looked at him searchingly. Harry kept his barriers on, shielding his mind from any potential attacks. While he wasn't sure if a portrait can perform Legilimency, he wasn't about to take any chances.

Finally, the older man let out a sigh, "...Back on topic, what did Tom do to Nessie? Why didn't she listen to you if you're my Heir?"

Harry shrugged again, "I don't know," Then he thought of his conversation with Tom, "But when I fought i-her, Tom told me that she obeys only him." Slytherin looked deep in thought so Harry continued, "And besides, I don't know if I actually have your blood. I only learned that I am the Heir of Slytherin bloodline by the right to Conquest."

Slytherin frowned, "No, this room only opens to those of my blood. Not even those by Right to Conquest. I believe, Harry, that you are somehow my heir. I don't know if any of my Descendents married anyone from the Potter family, perhaps it is from your other parent."

Harry eyed him carefully, "I've heard most Muggleborn are descendants from Squibs." He said.

Slytherin raised an eyebrow, "...Then you've heard correctly. Your mother?" Harry nodded, "Why would that be a problem?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "Well, you've been portrayed by most people as a... uh, Pureblood Supremacist." Harry said carefully. Slytherin looked shocked.

"Excuse me?" He demanded. Harry raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, I'm just saying what people think!" He defended. Slytherin _hissed_.

"I am not, let me repeat, am _not_, meaning negative, against Muggleborn in any way. I never have been, and I never will be, dammit, who the fuck spread such rumors anyway?" He yelled. Harry shrugged.

"I guess it was Tom, who after he became a Dark Lord decided to preach 'your ideals'." Harry said making air quotes at the 'your ideals'. Slytherin scowled.

"Whatever happened to the sharp-tongued brat who wanted to know more about his gifts and a name for himself?" He said, rubbing his greying hair. Harry blinked. That did not sound like Voldemort.

"I think I can say that whatever happened to him, happened right here," Harry said. Salazar sighed and nodded.

"You're right. The boy was aloof and uncaring, but he wasn't evil or crazy, as you keep insinuating." He said. Harry nodded slowly.

He could see that Voldemort was clearly insane if his face anything to go by. If it were him, he'd use the handsome looks and natural charm to gain followers, but Riddle was stupid and did something to his face, which made him disfigured.

Gosh, why was he thinking of the ways _he _would go if he wanted world domination?

The point is, the boy he met, Tom Riddle, didn't look insane.

Harry watched Slytherin for a moment. It was clear as daylight that Slytherin was in deep thought, which Harry assumed to be about Riddle and the Basilisk- Nessie. It was going to take some getting used to but, if he wanted any help from the man, he'd rather not offend him.

Suddenly, Slytherin sighed, "You have given me some interesting topics to think about. Leave me for now, come back later while I arrange my thoughts." He demanded, not even looking Harry in the eye.

"Will you be able to figure out what happened to Tom Riddle?" It wasn't something he particularly cared about, to be honest. But he was feeling slightly hopeful that if he learned Riddle's history, then he'd be able to figure out how he was able to survive the rebounding of the _Killing Curse._

"Of course I can." Slytherin snapped, annoyed, "Everything that brat learned, he learned from me. I know him better than his own mother does!" He said.

Harry shrugged, "Alright then, I'll leave you to it. I'll come back later." He said and turned around to leave the room. He didn't look back.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Mister Potter, I'd like a word." A sugary voice simpered as Harry was about to leave the Defense Classroom. Harry stopped in his tracks and used his Occlumency shields to calm himself down so that he wouldn't just lash out at the woman as soon as a word leaves her mouth.

He saw Ron and Hermione frown, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Daphne stop in her tracks as well and glance in their direction with narrowed eyes. Harry inclined his head subtly, silently messaging her to stay back.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked politely with a bright smile on his face. Clearly, it pissed her off, which made him smirk inwardly.

"Where were you last night, Mister Potter?" Umbridge demanded suddenly.

"In bed, Professor." He replied flatly. He saw her eye twitch.

"Don't act smart with me, Mister Potter. I got a tip from one of your own Housemates that you were out of the Common Room. Your very Miss Johnson, in fact." She said with a smug smile. Only Harry's Occlumency Shields made sure that he wouldn't show any surprise.

Angelina actually tipped him off? His Captain? Angelina Johnson? Sure, he doesn't exactly see eye to eye with the girl after she rallied the entire Gryffindor House to call him a liar and a cheat in the Triwizard Tournament, but he had made sure to never let his frustration show with her and had always remained polite the few times they spoke, which was during Quidditch Practice. Now she had gone and done this? Whatever had he done to her?

"Angelina probably just didn't see him, Professor." Ron said, quickly, "He was in bed, I share a dorm with him, I should know." He added. Hermione nodded.

"Yes, if he was found out of bounds then why didn't she inform a Prefect? I believe that she is just frustrated with Harry because he isn't showing up for Quidditch Practice." She said, but Harry knew her well enough to see that his best friend was angry.

Was that the reason? Perhaps. But it wasn't like it was his fault, Umbridge was the one who had assigned him too many detentions so that he'd be unable to make it to practice. Is she seriously blaming him for something that was Umbridge's fault?

"How... convenient that your two best friends are the only people who could provide you an alibi, Mister Potter," Umbridge remarked, her eyes wide and filled with glee. Harry narrowed his eyes, but before he could comment, another voice piped in.

"I can vouch for Harry, Madam Umbridge," Daphne stated, standing next to Harry. Harry was not entirely surprised that she had come to his support. After all, he was the only one who could provide her with adequate Defense Lessons that aren't complete shit and helping him would just improve his trust in her. Clever girl.

"And how would you know the happenings of Gryffindor, Miss Greengrass," Umbridge asked, looking at her with narrow eyes.

"Because Harry and I were in the Library researching for the Potions assignment due in a week in which we are partners." She replied, her face emotionless, and Harry nearly grinned at her addressing him as 'Harry' and not 'Potter', "By the time we were done, we had already crossed curfew. It is probably why Miss Johnson missed Harry in the Common Room. Besides, how would she know if Harry was out of the Common Room if he was in the Boys Dorms? If I am correct, girls never enter the Boys Dorms, it was just a simple mistake." She lied smoothly.

Umbridge frowned, clearly unhappy, "...Very well, Ten points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for being out of curfew. You may go." She said and promptly turned around and stormed away.

Once they were out of the classroom, Daphne frowned and looked at him, "...What's wrong with your house?" She asked, looking fairly disgusted. Harry sighed, looking away. He could see why she was disgusted. Hufflepuff wasn't the only House that values loyalty, Slytherin values it as well.

Slytherin is probably House that is scrutinized the most in Hogwarts and to counter the constant scrutiny they are under, they believe in being loyal to the people who they think deserve it. It was how Voldemort managed to gain so many followers during his uprising. He used his cunning and charm to gain followers in small amounts, then to speed up the process of 'I'm going to rule the world', he used his clever attributes and twisted Slytherin's ideas into something that benefits him.

"...The better question is, what's wrong with Hogwarts?" Harry replied wryly, and Daphne scowled.

Without looking at him, she said, "It would be better if you talk to Johnson about why she would rat you out, Harry. Aren't you on the Quidditch Team and she's the Captain?" She said.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I'm the Seeker, wonder why the hell she'd do that? We're not exactly the best of pals, but I would think she'd at least make sure her Seeker was out of Detention." He said, scowling inwardly.

"Maybe that's why she babbled to Umbridge, mate. 'Cause she's angry at you for missing practice, you know, since you were in Detention with Umbitch." Ron speculated, to which Daphne scoffed.

"So to show that she's angry with him for in detention and missing practice, she wants him to get in detention and miss practice. Bravo." She said sarcastically to which Harry and Hermione snickered and Ron's face reddened.

"Shut up, snake." He muttered.

"Don't worry about it, I'll talk to her. I think it's about time that I stop taking shit from my Housemates, and emphasize my point by giving them a good wake up slap." He said, ignoring Ron. He would have to do something drastic to prove that he was done being at the receiving end of glares from the idiots who refuse to see the truth and whisper behind his back and Angelina had given him the perfect opportunity to do exactly that.

Hermione gave him a wary look, "What do you plan on doing, Harry?" She asked cautiously.

"I'm freeing up some time," Harry said flatly with a smirk. He enjoyed flying, and he did enjoy Quidditch, but that doesn't mean he'll play for people who call him names as soon as his back was turned.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, to which Harry shrugged, she frowned but gave up, "Alright then, Harry. We'll meet later for our lessons."

Harry nodded, and she left without a backward glance. Ron turned to him with a scowl, "You're giving her separate lessons?!" He demanded. Harry rolled his eyes.

"No, _she's _giving _me _private lessons. Snuffles told me to ask some of the other Pureblood Family members as they know basic Occlumency, and Daphne knows better than a beginners' level. You want in?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"There's no way I'm letting a snake into my head, Harry." Ron snapped.

"I'd rather had a snake in my head than a snake-faced wanker." Harry shot back to which Ron huffed.

"Look, you can't trust her is what I'm saying." He said, then he scowled "it's bad enough that Hermione got all disgustingly close with Krum last year and now you're all buddy-buddy with Slytherin. I don't like it. Worse, Hermione still writes to Vicky." Ron stated. Harry simply looked at him in disbelief, and wisely backed away and allowed Mount Hermione to erupt.

"I'm sorry, Ronald, the next time I want to go to a dance with someone I'll ask your _permission._" Hermione snapped. Ron looked taken aback, but he recovered quickly and his face twisted into a scowl,

"I'm just looking out for you two, dammit! Why in Merlin's name would you want to be friends with someone like Greengrass? A snake?" He demanded, looking genuinely disturbed at the idea.

"Not all Slytherins are slimy toerags like Malfoy, Ronald. Maybe if you could get past your own narrow viewpoint, you would see that." Hermione sniffed. Harry agreed with her. Malfoy was obviously everything that is wrong with Slytherin, and his two bookends along with Parkinson simply emphasize the point. But, barring the occasional idiot who wants to kneel before a Half-Blood son of a Muggle and an almost Squib, who was pretending to be a Pure-Blood and fooling nearly everyone into doing his bidding, there are many people in Slytherin House who don't particularly care for Voldemort's ideas. Honestly, it wasn't even a guarantee that the son or daughter of a Death Eater was going to be one in the future. Theodore Nott certainly doesn't seem to want anything to do with his old man, Blaise Zabini is too uncaring to anything around the world, Daphne was obviously against Voldemort.

Malfoy was one of the possibly few for who 'the apple doesn't fall far from the tree' applies to, but sometimes the apple falls far enough to fall into a nearby river and reach the other side. Sirius was an obvious example of that.

"Oh, please, I'll bet that they're all just Death Eaters in the making. Come on, Harry, back me up!" Ron said with disgust and looking at Harry for support. Harry looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Righto, so Daphne took a Magical Oath, clearly stating that she would never willingly betray me or any of you, and yet you say she wants to join Voldemort? Sorry mate, it doesn't compute." Harry said blandly, making Hermione smile proudly at him and he allowed a small quirk of his lips.

"You're not really daft enough to believe that, are you? All Pureblood parents make their children swear an Oath to never betray their House, and Greengrass's father was a known Death Eater. Sure, she wouldn't betray you or any of us, but when push comes to shove against you and her House, all she'll do is stand on the sidelines, and support her family by indirectly giving them your weaknesses." Ron pointed out, looking genuinely angry. Harry nodded.

"I'm aware of the Oath."

"Then why?"

Hermione was looking at Harry with a furrowed brow, and she continued for a moment before her eyes brightened, "Oh, you intend to use her against them!" She exclaimed, looking both proud and disturbed at the same time.

"Huh?"

"Ron, Daphne's a Pureblood, that means that sometime soon, they'll be asked to join You-Know-Who's side. Daphne wouldn't join then, I know that and she may not give us any information about her father's plans, but that doesn't mean she can't tell us anything about the happenings of the other junior Death Eaters in Slytherin, maybe even the adult ones too!" Hermione explained in detail. Harry grinned.

"Got it in one." He replied. Ron looked slightly uneasy at the thought and said,

"But would she like that?" He asked, not actually looking concerned. Harry shrugged.

"Daphne knows that I'm going to ask her to do it someday, and she was already dropping some hints at the happening at the House of Snakes. By the way, all of this is under a _Privacy _Charm, right?" Harry asked Hermione, who nodded, "Good, anyway, I really don't think she likes her old man. I don't know what he's made her do, or what he's done to her, but I know that she hates him very much." Harry informed them.

He didn't actually know if she actually _hates_ her father, it seems a bit impossible for any normal person, Tom Riddle doesn't count, but Harry knew that Daphne did _not_ like her father at all. Any time he has come up in any conversation, she seemed to shut down completely and slips into her so-called 'Ice Queen' mode. He's seen the expression enough times in himself to realize that he probably wasn't very kind to her. As a fellow human being who understood what she's probably been through, Harry had made sure that every member of their Club never mentions Lord Greengrass in any way.

"Huh, really."

"Yeah."

"Honestly, Ronald, if you could pay a _bit _of attention then you'll notice that she doesn't like talking about her father at all," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.

And thus began another argument about whether Ron is oblivious to the world or not.

||||x||||x|||||

"Johnson, a word, please?" Harry kept his face completely blank, his Occlumency helped in achieving that, stared down his Captain. It also helped that he was a good few inches taller than Angelina who looked a bit nervous about him being near her.

Alicia and Katie were also there, looking slightly anxious about what was going to happen. Obviously, Angelina had told them what she had done, and they were here to support their friend. Surprise surprise.

Pity they never saw the need to support him when he needed it the most.

"Yes?"

"I heard you've been providing Umbi- Umbridge about me being out of bed at night. Even though you've never been to the Boy's Dorms unless you've made it your mission to stalk me." He narrowed his eyes dangerously and said, "Care to explain?" He nearly growled.

Clearly, she wasn't expecting him to get so angry, as the dark-skinned Chaser flinched, but glared back with equal venom, "I was just being a responsible teammate, Potter. I saw you out of your bed, roaming in the corridors and I informed Professor Umbridge to take action. I assume she did?"

"Oh, I see." He nodded, then raising an eyebrow he said, "Did you also mention that you were out of bounds?" He asked flatly. Johnson blinked.

"What?"

"'What?', she says." Harry scoffed, "You do realize that the only way you would have seen me roam the corridors out of bounds is by being out of bed, and out of bounds yourself?" He asked. Judging by the darkening of her skin, she didn't.

Snorting he added, "It speaks volumes about our... esteemed Defense Teacher." Harry nearly spat, then he glared at her and said, "I think we both know what this is about, Johnson." He said. Angelina got face to face with him.

"Of course we do," She said softly, glaring into his eyes.

"If it's about Quidditch, Johnson, I'll have you know-"

"Oh, I'm definitely mad about that, but that isn't what this is about." She growled, and Harry just stared, "This is about you lying about You-Know-Who!" She spat. Harry raised both of his eyebrows.

He chuckled, "Is that was this is about? Me claiming that Voldemort's back?" He smirked when they all flinched at his name, "Voldemort." They flinched again, "Voldemonkey," He chuckled at their reaction, only to realize that they all had paled and some of the lower years were even clutching each other in fear. His chuckles turned into laughter.

Harry slowly stopped laughing when he realized that they all were glaring at him, but his smirk remained, "Oh, are you all done shitting your pants?" He asked softly, "If he's gone then stop flinching every time I say his name. Voldemort," He scoffed in disgust when they all flinched again, "You call me a liar when I say he's back, but you still shit your pants when I say his names, bravo." He said with a slow, sarcastic clap.

Angelina grabbed him by the front of his robes and shoved him towards her until her face was only inches from his own, "Don't you dare lie to us, Potter. Don't you dare, I don't like Umbridge, but the Ministry is doing something right by trying to shut you up." She growled.

Harry slowly turned away and looked at Katie, who looked like she would rather be anywhere but there at the moment. She refused to look at him and Harry's lips twitched. It was too much to expect any support, wasn't it? Even from a girl who he saw as his older sister.

"Unhand me, Johnson." He said, his voice soft and flat as usual with a hint of warning, "I don't care if you don't believe me about Voldemonkey. I don't care if you're piss hurt about your spotlight being stolen by me being put in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and I don't care if you believe that I need to be stopped. But you should know better than to lay your hands on someone who fought a _Dragon_ and won, _alone._" He spat and was satisfied to see a flinch and a look of hurt in Katie's face.

Angelina let him go, but she never stopped glaring at him. Harry flattened his robes and smirked at her, "Voldemort." He said almost lazily. He scoffed in disgust when she flinched, "And I had so many plans about starting up a Defense Club and helping you." Harry said with a mock-disappointed sigh.

"What?" Alicia blurted out. Harry looked at her and frowned mockingly.

"Yeah, Hermione wanted me to teach Defense to all of you, and I was about to agree. But seems like you don't want in. Shame." Harry said, looking around the Gryffindor House members with real pity in his eyes. _Your loss, then. Have fun with Voldemort and his arse kissers. _

He just about turned and walked away, when Angelina called out, "Potter stop, or I'll suspend you from the team!" She said frantically. Apparently, she felt glares coming from the entire House that was directed at her, instead of him.

Harry stopped in his path and smirked. Of course, he'd expected that. He turned around slowly, only to find her hopeful face looking at him. Alicia and Katie looked hopeful as well, but Katie had a hint of pain in her eyes, but Harry couldn't bring himself to care.

"So let me get this straight, you decide to make my life a living hell, rallying the other members of Gryffindors against me and calling me a cheat, a liar among other such endearing names, something that your friends _helped_ you with I might add," He pointedly ignored Katie's shameful face, "then this year, you've been treating me like I'm dirt on your shoes, making snide comments, then you almost make me get in Detention with that toad bitch, and now you go on to call me a liar, a cheat, and that I must be stopped, and you have the _gall_ to threaten me? Very well, Johnson, let me make it easy for you." He said coldly, and without warning, Harry took out his wand from his robes and saw that she tensed. He shook his head in disappointment. There was a time when she wouldn't even have bat an eye at him pulling out a wand.

He stared at her coldly and wrote a few letters in the air, then he waved his wand, with the words spelling out in flaming letters.

_Find a new seeker. _

The uproar in the Gryffindor Common Room could only be compared to Cedric Diggory being announced as the Hogwarts Champion. Harry simply glared coldly at a gobsmacked Chaser Trio, as they stared at the words in horror. When they disappeared, Harry looked away,

"Maybe you can find another seeker, maybe they'll even be better than me, _but_," He grinned savagely, "good luck doing that before the game with Slytherin in five days." Harry winked and promptly turned around and walked away.

|||x|||x|||x|||

"So you actually quit?" Neville asked Harry as he casually sipped the coffee that he had Winky supply to him.

Harry looked at his friend and simply nodded. Neville looked understanding but still asked, "Why? I thought you loved Quidditch." Neville asked. Harry shrugged, it was a common misconception that he loved Quidditch.

"You and pretty much everyone else other than Hermione, Remus, and another person," He didn't dare mention Sirius' name, even in front of Neville, "I don't love _Quidditch_, I love flying. It gives me a thrill and a sense of freedom that I never seem to achieve anywhere else. I fly every day just to feel free." Harry explained as he continued to read his _Introduction to the Mind Arts _book that Sirius sent him. Hermione had yet to make any spectacular progress regarding her pursuit of Legilimency. But it takes time to get in tune with your magic enough to actually send out a probe into another person's mind.

While using his shields every day would increase the strength by a tiny bit, which was why he was able to calm himself down enough to not shout at Angelina in the Common Room, but in order to properly test his shields, he would have to test it against a Legilimens.

Magic was like a muscle. The more you train with it, the stronger and more flexible it becomes, but it is also different from a muscle, as it does not deteriorate with age. This is why a man like Dumbledore, who is well over a century old, is still so strong magically, while physically he is practically useless. However, like a muscle, if you strain it too much, it can be damaged. Occlumency, being a mental shield made out of magic, works the same way. So when someone, cough, Snape, cough, use his Legilimency as a battering ram to destroy his shields, he damages them.

This was why he was having such slow progress with his Occlumency, he was having to rebuild his shields every time he enters his mindscape because Snape had damaged it. He has yet to tell Dumbledore that Snape had done it willingly.

But he planned to. He was sure Dumbledore was going to call him up to ask him why he hadn't attended Snape's... 'classes'.

Harry had also been practicing Legilimency. He planned on becoming proficient in both of the Mind Arts. He wasn't planning on doing it casually like he was sure Snape does, maybe even Dumbledore, but he knew it was very powerful when used properly.

He smirked, he couldn't wait for his Occlumency classes with Daphne tonight. Being in the blonde girl's mind had a certain... appeal.

"I see, but I don't think Ron or Ginny would be happy with that. I don't know about Fred and George though." Neville said and Harry shrugged.

"Ginny will understand. Ron might take some convincing, but he'll listen to me. The twins would be like Ginny, they'll understand, they won't be happy, but they'll understand." Harry said honestly.

"Katie looked really sad though."

Harry said nothing. He was feeling a bit bad about being so mean to Katie, and he knew he was being petty. But the girl had brought this onto herself though. He had gone to her for help when he was genuinely scared of fighting a dragon, but she had always made some excuse. He could have died, but she was more concerned about what _Angelina _might do.

He did plan on forgiving her though. When she actually _apologizes._ But if she asks him to rejoin the team then she'll just be another acquaintance.

"Enough of that, Nev. How's your spellwork coming along?" Harry asked, waiting for any news of his progress. Neville's grandmother was horrified to hear that she had been unknowingly causing Neville's wandwork to suffer by making him use Frank Longbottom's wand, and she'd immediately set upon getting him a new one. Neville vanished one day and returned the next with a new wand.

Ten inches, Cherry and Unicorn Hair. As soon as he saw Neville Longbottom's wand, immediately Harry knew that Neville had frightening power. When he had demonstrated his power, a simple _Wingardium Leviosa _on a pillow, he had accidentally used so much power that he sent the pillow flying so hard up that it hit the heavy stone ceiling _hard_. Since then, most of the people who _dared_ to bully Neville had quietly backed off. Even Malfoy had to stop from calling Neville a squib and instead decided to insult his parents. The result was Neville hitting the ferret lad with a _Stinging _Hex strong enough to make him bleed.

Neville got in detention for the first time that Harry could remember.

Said sandy-haired boy smirked and shot a Levitation Spell on him. Harry made a surprised yelp when he nearly hit the ceiling, and stared at his fellow Lion disbelievingly. Neville grinned cheekily and let go, and Harry nearly hit the floor, before Neville caught him with another Levitation Spell and straightening him.

Harry blinked and just stared at him. Neville raised an eyebrow, "Is there something wrong, Harry?" He asked innocently. Harry blinked again, before looking around at the crowd that was simply gaping at Neville and smirked, before pulling out his own Holly, Phoenix Feather wand.

"You're on, Longbottom." He shot a_Stinging _Hex at the boy who promptly ducked, and shot a _Jelly Legs_ Jinx at him. Harry grinned and simply side-stepped it and shot a _Tickling _Charm at him. Neville looked panicked for a second before pulling out a _Protego_ at the last moment, which made the spell rebound at Harry with frightening speed. Harry narrowed his eyes and shot a _Finite_, immediately dissipating the spell.

By this time, several students were watching them, and most people who knew Neville gaped again. Harry himself was a bit shocked. The _Protego _was so bright that it nearly blinded him. Harry took a deep breath to calm himself and smirked.

"Play time's over." He muttered before he shot a _Stunner _which was bright crimson in color. Neville's eyes widened and he ducked. Harry used this to his advantage and said softly, "_Expelliarmus."_ The spell shot at Neville at blinding speed, but Harry's lessons in ducking that he had drilled into the group kicked in, and he jumped to the side.

"_Stupefy!"_ Harry sidestepped the spell and he rolled on his feet.

"_Tarantellegra!_" The spell was aimed at the legs, so Neville jumped backward and let the spell hit on the floor. Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"_Rictusempra!"_

"_Protego!"_

"_Expelliarmus!"_

"_Bombarda." _Neville's eyes widened when he heard the soft voice and he ducked down to avoid the demolishing spell. But he blinked when he saw nothing, but when he saw Harry grinning, he cursed and hurried onto his feet.

"_Expelliarmus,_" Harry said, and the curse hit Neville. His wand flew out of his hand but when Harry saw that it stopped in mid-air, his brow furrowed. Harry looked at Neville and his eyes widened. Neville was standing up, with a frozen look on his face, and his wand was hovering halfway between him and Harry. His arm was outstretched and his hand was open as if he was trying to catch it. Harry's eyes narrowed.

"_Carpe Retractum,_" Harry said and the red rope grabbed the wand and pulled it towards him. Neville growled and _tugged._ The ropes snapped.

The wand flew back into his hand and he firmly called, "_Stupefy!"_

With practiced ease, Harry sidestepped the stunner and sent his own which was blocked by the blinding _Protego._ Harry decided to get serious.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" Focusing on the memory of seeing Sirius again at Number Twelve and hugging him, Harry focused his magic. Prongs jumped out of the wand and ran towards Neville. Harry had read that in the heat of the battle, people forget simple things. It was simply the way the mind works. In Neville's case, he forgot that the only use of _Patronus _Charm aside from warding off Dementors was to send messages.

So when Prongs began to stomp towards Neville, he panicked. He tried to fire a _Stunner_ at Prongs, and Harry knew that if the Patronus could smile cheekily, it would. Prongs stopped and tilted his head.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Harry said firmly and pushed all of his magic into it. He smiled when the wand flew out of Neville's hand and landed in his.

"What's going on here?!" Shouted a voice that was Harry's currently favorite Professor in Hogwarts. Professor Flitwick.

||||x||||x||||

"What on earth possessed you to do this?!" Daphne demanded as soon as he popped into the Chamber of Secrets with Winky. The elf bowed and popped away.

"I don't know what you mean, Daph," Harry said innocently. Daphne glared at him.

"Don't call me that, and you know what I mean." She snapped. Harry chuckled.

"How about I give you a few hints and you'll figure it out, hmm?" He said. Daphne crossed her arms over her considerable bust and blew the hair out of her face. Harry smiled charmingly at her, but like on Hermione, it just doesn't seem to work.

"Hn." She grunted impatiently.

"Neville is considered almost a squib. He is bullied by his own housemates and he lacks any sense of confidence whatsoever. The reason is, of course, his wand wasn't fit for him. He wants to prove that he isn't a squib." Harry said.

Daphne thought over it, and it took about twenty-five seconds for her to get it, "You're the best at Defense. If Longbottom proves that he could actually give you a challenge, and force you to use tactics on him then it proves that he isn't a pushover. You've made it escalate that far and to actually use _Stunners _and _Disarming _Spells. You _wanted_ to show them that Longbottom isn't someone to mess with." There was a healthy amount of respect and admiration in her eyes.

Harry smiled, "Correct. Though I'll admit that he surprised me by stopping his wand from getting to me without his wand and without any words, that was my aim all along." Harry said. Daphne actually gave a small grin,

"You're more Slytherin than I expected, Harry, I'll give you that much." She said.

"It's 'Harry' now, eh?" Harry grinned. Daphne smiled slightly but said nothing.

"Ready for your lessons?"

"Hell yeah."

||||x||||x||||

_Review, please._


End file.
